Question

In a chemistry class a hot liquid is placed into a refrigerator and it’s temperature in degrees Fahrenheit is modeled as a function of the number of minutes since it was place in the refrigerator. The model formed was linear function T(n)=-8n+175 give a interpretation of the parameters -8 and 175 within the context of this problem.

Answer 1

In this problem, the temperature of the hot liquid (T) is being modeled as a function of the number of minutes (n) that it has been in the refrigerator. The model is a linear function, which means that the temperature will change at a constant rate as the number of minutes increases.

The parameter -8 represents the rate at which the temperature is changing. Specifically, it represents the amount by which the temperature decreases in degrees Fahrenheit for every one minute that passes. For example, if the hot liquid has been in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, its temperature will have decreased by (-8 * 10) = -80 degrees Fahrenheit.

The parameter 175 represents the initial temperature of the hot liquid when it was first placed in the refrigerator. This is the temperature at n = 0, or when no time has passed.

So in the context of this problem, the parameters -8 and 175 represent the rate at which the temperature changes and the initial temperature of the hot liquid, respectively.