Question

The amount of laps remaining, y, in a swimmer's race after x minutes can be represented by the graph shown.

coordinate grid with the x axis labeled time in minutes and the y axis labeled number of laps remaining with a line from 0 comma 30 to 10 comma 0

Determine the slope of the line and explain its meaning in terms of the real-world scenario.

The slope of the line is negative one third, which means that the swimmer completes a lap in one third of a minute.
The slope of the line is −3, which means that the swimmer will complete 3 laps every minute.
The slope of the line is 10, which means that the swimmer will finish the race after 10 minutes.
The slope of the line is 30, which means that the swimmer must complete 30 laps in the race.

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

The slope of the line is -3, which means that the swimmer completes 3 laps every minute.

In general, the slope of a line represents the rate of change between the two variables being plotted. In this case, the x-axis represents time in minutes and the y-axis represents the number of laps remaining. The negative slope of -3 indicates that for every one minute that passes, the number of laps remaining decreases by 3.

Therefore, the meaning of the slope in terms of the real-world scenario is that the swimmer is completing laps at a rate of 3 laps per minute. This implies that the swimmer is maintaining a consistent pace throughout the race.