Question

Superman needs to save Lois from the clutches of Lex Luthor. After flying for 11 seconds, he is 1473meters from her. Then at 13 seconds he is 1359 meters from her,What is Superman's average rate?meters per secondHow far does Superman fly every 7 seconds?metersHow close to Lois is Superman after 20 seconds?metersQuestion Help: Message instructorSubmit QuestionJump to Answer

Answer 1

This situation can be interpreted as a linear function. In order to determine which is the equation of the line, you first calculate the slope of the function:

m = (y2 - y1)/(x2 - x1)

where (x1,y1) and (x2,y2) are a pair of points of the line. In this case you can relate these points to the information of the distance between superman and Lex, and the interval times. Thus, you have:

(x1,y1) = (11,1473)

(x2,y2) = (13,1359)

where x is the flight time of superman and y the distance between him and Lex.

By replacing in the formula for the slope m you obtain:

m = (1359 - 1473)/(13 - 11)

m = -114/2