Question

An airplane descends at a constant rate of 2500 feet per minute until it reaches the ground. Just before it begins to descend, the airplane is initially 35,000 feet above the ground. Write an equation to represent h, the airplane's height above the ground in feet, based on m, the time in minutes it spends descending.

Answer 1

The equation representing the airplane's height h above ground after m minutes of descent at a constant rate is h = 35000 - 2500m.

Step-by-step explanation:

To write an equation representing h, the airplane's height above the ground in feet, based on m, the time in minutes it spends descending, we can set up a linear equation that accounts for the constant rate of descent and the initial height. The rate of descent is given as 2500 feet per minute, which is the slope of our equation, and the initial height is 35,000 feet, which is the y-intercept when m=0.

The equation we are looking for is:

h = 35000 - 2500m

This represents the height h in feet above ground after m minutes of descent. The initial height is 35,000 feet, and since the plane descends at a constant rate, we subtract 2500 feet for every minute the plane descends.