Question

In 1978, the number of high school dropouts in a country was 5217 thousand. By 2007, this number had decreased to 3118 thousand. Find and interpret the average rate of change per year in the number of high school dropouts. Select the correct choice below and fill in the answer boxes to complete your choice. (Round to the nearest tenth as needed)A. The average rate of change is about ___ thousand each year. The number of high school dropouts decreased by an average of about ____ thousand each year from 1978 to 2007.B. The average rate of change is about ____ thousand each year. The number of high school dropouts increased by an average of about ____ thousand each year from 1978 to 2007.C. The average rate of change is about ____ thousand each year. The number of high school dropouts decreased by an average of about ____ thousand in the year 2007. D. The average rate of change is about ____ thousand each year. The number of high school dropouts increased by an average of about ____ thousand in the year 2007.

Answer 1

A. The average rate of change is about -72.4 thousand each year. The number of high school dropouts decreased by an average of about 72.4 thousand each year from 1978 to 2007.

Explanation:

We can calculate the average rate of change per year in the number of high school dropout, using the following formula:

`r=(y_2-y_1)/(x_2-x_1)`

We substitute the corresponding values and we calculate the average rate of change just like this:

`\begin{gathered} r=(3118-5217)/(2007-1978) \\ \\ r=-72.4 \end{gathered}`

Therefore, the correct answer is the following:

A. The average rate of change is about -72.4 thousand each year. The number of high school dropouts decreased by an average of about 72.4 thousand each year from 1978 to 2007.