Question

2 people can plough a field in 6 hours.

a)
How long would it take 1 person to plough the field?
b)
How long would it take 3 people to plough the field?​

Answer 1

LINEAR: 1 person will take 9 hours, 3 people will take 3 hours

y = -3x+12

QUADRATIC: 1 person will take 12 hours, 3 people will take 4 hours

y = (x - 3)^2 + 4

Explanation:

LINEAR:

This line has a negative slope, as it would logically take less time if you have more people. If this is linear, the slope is -1 * 6/2 = -3.

-3(2) + b = 6

-6 + b = 6

b = 12

y= -3(1) + 12 = 12 - 3 = 9 hours

QUADRATIC:

If you assume that 2 people take 6 hours, 1 person should take 12 hours.

Run a quadratic regression with diagnostics, and you'll get the equation

y = (x-3)^2+4 with 100% accuracy.

Then you'll find that 1 person took 12 hours, and 3 people took 4 hours

Answer 2

B is the answer because it’s the one that makes most sense