Final answer:
The student reading 5 pages every 3 minutes instead of 4 pages will have an increased reading rate, changing the graph slope to be steeper. This change would make the graph more similar to another if their rates were closer to the new speed, and more different if they were closer to the old speed.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a student, referred to in the hypothetical situation, reads 5 pages every 3 minutes instead of 4 pages every 3 minutes, the rate of reading would increase. On a graph plotting pages read over time, this would be reflected by a steeper slope, indicating a faster pace. Suppose the original graph had a linear function representing the reading rate; increasing the rate would make the slope of the line rise more quickly over time. For instance, after 9 minutes, the student would have read 15 pages at the new rate compared to 12 pages at the old rate. Consequently, the new graph depicting the faster reading rate would show a steeper ascent over the same time period compared to the original graph.
Comparing this change with other graphs from Publishers A, B, and C, if Publisher C's graph remains unchanged while Publishers A and B's graphs are altered to reflect the new rates, differences or similarities would depend on their original rates and how they compare with the new rates of reading. If Publisher C's rate was closer to 5 pages every 3 minutes to begin with, the graphs would appear more similar post-change. Conversely, if Publisher C's rate was more aligned with 4 pages every 3 minutes, after the adjustment, the graphs would appear more different due to the discrepancy in reading rates.