Question

A hiker is walking down a mountain. She walked 5978 feet in 17 minutes. In that time she descended 1024 feet feom the top of the mountain. She then walked 3927 feet in 7 minutes. In that time she descended 500 more feet. Express the average rate of change in altitude of the hiker from her starting point to her ending point as unit rate

Answer 1

`Average \ rate \ of \ change =` 63.5 ft/min

Explanation:

Given that:

A hiker is walking down a mountain.

For the first case:

She descended 1024 feet from the top of the mountain in 17 minutes after walking for 5978 feet.

For the second case:

She descended 500 more feet from the top of the mountain in 7 minutes after walking for 3927 feet.

Thus; the average rate of change in altitude of the hiker from her starting point to her ending point can be expressed as:

`Average \ rate \ of \ change = (h_1 +h_2)/(t_1 + t_2)`

`Average \ rate \ of \ change = (1024 +500)/(17 + 7)`

`Average \ rate \ of \ change = (1524)/(24)`

`Average \ rate \ of \ change =` 63.5 ft/min