Final answer:
Michelle's rate of descent (slope) is 34 ft/min. A linear equation to describe her skiing motion is y = 34x + 1200, where x represents time in minutes and y represents the height in feet.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find Michelle's rate of descent (slope), we can use the formula:
Rate of descent = Distance / Time
Given that Michelle descends 850 feet of the beginner slope at Mount Washington in 25 minutes, we can substitute these values into the formula:
Rate of descent = 850 ft / 25 min
Simplifying the calculation gives us:
Rate of descent = 34 ft/min
To find a linear equation to describe Michelle's skiing motion, we can use the slope-intercept form of a linear equation: y = mx + b, where m is the slope and b is the y-intercept.
From the given information, we know that Michelle begins her descent at a height of 1200 feet. This gives us the point (0, 1200) on the graph.
Since the slope represents the rate of descent, which we calculated as 34 ft/min, we can substitute this value into the equation:
y = 34x + 1200
This linear equation represents Michelle's skiing motion.