Question

a submarine, cruising at 160 meters beneath the surface of the ocean, begins to rise toward the surface at the rate of 12 meters per minute. the equation would be y=160-12x. find and interpret the y-intercept and the x-intercept.

Answer 1

y-intercept = 160

`\text{x-intercept} = (160)/(12)`

Explanation:

We are given the following in the question:

`y=160-12x`

where y is the submarine position.

The submarine is at 160 meters beneath the surface of the ocean, begins to rise toward the surface at the rate of 12 meters per minute.

Comparing to general linear equation:

`y = mx + c`

where m is the slope and c is the y-intercept.

We get:

m = -12

c = 160

y-intercept = 160

It is the value when x = 0 that is the initial position of submarine before it begins to rise.

x-intercept:

It is the value when y = 0.

`0=160-12x\\12x = 160\\\\x = (160)/(12)`

It is the time in minutes at which the position of submarine is 0 meters beneath the surface of the ocean.