An airplane 30,000 feet above the ground begins descending at the rate of 2,000 feet per minute. Assume the plane continues at the same rate of descent. The plane's height and minutes above the ground are related to each other.

Identify the variables in this situation:
- \(x =\) _____
- \(y =\) _____

What is the given information in this problem (find all that apply)?
- Y-intercept: _____
- Slope: _____
- One point: \((___,___)\)
- Second point: \((___,___)\)

If we call y the height of the plane, we know when the time (x) is 0, the height is 30000. So let's write that in:
y = 30000 + (0)
Then, for every increase of a minute (x increases by 1), the height reduces by 2000. This can be written as:
y = 30000 - 2000x **
Using what we know about y = mx+c equations, the slope of the line is -2000 , and the y-intercept is (0, 30000) .
**

Answered by ollieboyne | 2024-06-10

The variables are defined as x for time in minutes and y for height in feet. The y-intercept is 30,000 feet, and the slope is -2,000 feet per minute, indicating the descent rate. We identified (0, 30000) and (15, 0) as points representing initial and final height after 15 minutes.
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Answered by ollieboyne | 2024-10-11