Question

Suppose a car depreciates linearly the second you drive it off the lot. If you purchased the car for $31,500 and after 5 years the car is worth $20,500, find the slope of the depreciation line.

Answer 1

Answer: m = - 2200

Explanation: Slope of a line is a number which describes the steepness and direction of a linear graph. It is represented by the letter m.

The year a car is bought and its price means:

f(0) = 31,500

Five years later, the price is $20,500, i.e.:

f(5) = 20,500

With these two pairs of value, slope is calculated as:

`m = (y-y_(0))/(x-x_(0))`

`m = (20500-31500)/(5-0)`

`m = (- 1100)/(5)`

m = - 2200

The slope of the depreciation line is m = -2200 and it is negative because the line decreases along time.