Question

During a snowstorm, Grayson tracked the amount of snow on the ground. When the storm began, there were 4 inches of snow on the ground. For the first 3 hours of the storm, snow fell at a constant rate of 1 inch per hour. The storm then stopped for 5 hours and then started again at a constant rate of 3 inches per hour for the next 2 hours. As soon as the storm stopped again, the sun came out and melted the snow for the next 2 hours at a constant rate of 4 inches per hour. Make a graph showing the inches of snow on the ground over time using the data that Grayson collected.

Answer 1

To create the graph, showing the inches of snow on the ground over time using the data that Grayson collected, we plot time on the x-axis and the amount of snow on the y-axis.

The initial quantity of snow at the start of the storm on the ground = 4 inches

The constant rate the snow fell for the first 3 hours = 1 inch per hour

The quantity of snow at the end of 3 hours = 7 inches (4 + (1 * 3))

The quantity of snow on the ground for the next 5 hours = 7 inches

The constant rate the snow fell for the first 2 hours = 3 inches per hour

The quantity of snow at the end of these 2 hours = 13 inches (7 + (3 * 2)

The constant rate the snow melted for the next 2 hours = 4 inches per hour

The quantity of snow at the end of these 2 hours = 5 inches (13 - (4 * 2)

We can plot these points on a graph to show the inches of snow on the ground over time.

Thus, the total snow on the ground at the end of this period is 4 inches (initial) + 3 inches (first phase) + 6 inches (second phase) - 8 inches (melting) = 5 inches.

Answer 2

We can plot all that happened in the next graph:

This is the graph showing the inches of the snow on the ground over time using the data that Grayson collected.