Question

PLZ help 40 points!!

Classify each scenario as a linear or non-linear function.
1. The number of pages a copy machine can print over time, expressed by n=30m.
2. The amount of money an hourly worker makes over time, expressed by a=15h.
3. The temperature outside at noon each day for a year.
4. The height increase of a child over 3 year

Answer 1

1. Linear because this equation plots out a straight line. This line goes through (0,0) and (1,30). Each time m goes up by 1, the value of n goes up by 30.

2. Also linear for similar reasons as problem 1. This time the slope is 15 instead of 30.

3. This is nonlinear because the temperature goes up during the summer months, but goes down during the winter months, with the pattern repeating (more or less) as each year goes by. A sine graph is more suited to model the data.

4. This is nonlinear. At first the child will grow fairly quickly but then their growth rate will slow down eventually. A logarithmic function might be a better fit.