An environmental scientist is monitoring the water level of a reservoir during a dry season. The water level, , in meters, can be modeled by a linear function of the number of days, , since the start of the dry season. On day 12, the water level was 30 meters, and on day 20, the water level was 26 meters. If the water level continues to decrease at this constant rate, on which day will the water level be exactly 18 meters?
- ADay 18
- BDay 24
- Day 36Cevap
- DDay 40
Cevap
Day 36
To find the day when the water level is exactly 18 meters, we first find the constant rate of change (slope) using the given points and . The slope is meters per day. Using the point-slope form with , we get , which simplifies to . Substituting 18 for gives . Subtracting 36 from both sides results in , and dividing by yields . Thus, the correct answer is Day 36.
Adım Adım Çözüm
Anahtar Kavram
Determining and evaluating linear equations from two given coordinate points
Alternatif Yöntem
Instead of constructing the entire equation, you can analyze the constant rate of change directly. The water level decreases by meters (from 30 to 26) over days (from day 12 to day 20), which means the rate of decrease is meters per day. To drop from 26 meters (on day 20) to 18 meters requires a further decrease of meters. At a rate of meters per day, dropping 8 meters will take days. Adding these 16 days to day 20 yields day 36.
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