Question

Across a horizontal distance of 25 feet, a roller coaster has a steep drop. The height of the roller coaster at the bottom of the drop is -125 feet, compared to its height at the top of the drop. What is the average amount that the roller coaster's height changes over each horizontal foot?

a. -1/5 ft
b. -5 ft
c. 5 ft
d. 1/5 ft

Answer 1

The average amount that the roller coaster's height changes over each horizontal foot is -5 ft.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question is asking for the average rate of change in height of a roller coaster per horizontal foot it travels during a steep drop.

To find this, we divide the total change in height by the horizontal distance covered. The roller coaster drops 125 feet (as it ends up at -125 feet compared to the top), and this happens over a distance of 25 horizontal feet.

Therefore, the average change in height per foot is -125 ft ÷ 25 ft, which is -5 ft per horizontal foot. The negative sign indicates that the roller coaster is descending.