Answer:
m = 600 feet/minute
Explanation:
In this scenario, the elevation of the hot air balloon can be represented as a linear function of time. Let's use t to denote time in minutes and h(t) to denote the elevation of the balloon in feet at time t.
We know that the balloon starts at an elevation of 300 feet, so we can write the equation of the line as:
h(t) = 600t + 300
The slope of the line represents the rate of change of the elevation with respect to time, which is the same as the rate at which the balloon is ascending. Therefore, the slope of the line is equal to the ascent rate of the balloon, which is 600 feet per minute.
So the slope of the line is:
m = 600 feet/minute