Average Rates of Change

Eshum Mateen

Question 1:

Since negative time cannot be measured, I have set the

domain and range to stay within positive numbers.
Also, the question asks for the thickness of the ice
within 7 days. So, I set my domain to
{d | 0 ≤ d ≤ 7, dϵ R}, and my range to
{T | 8.5 ≤ T ≤ 14.8, Tϵ R }.

The warmest day occurred on the 7 th day of the week.

Looking at the x and y values, we can measure how
thick the ice will be each day. On the 1 st day the ice is
11.5cm (1,11.5), on the 2nd day it is 10cm (2,10), on the
3rd is it 9.7cm (3,9.7), and so on…(4,10), (5,10.3), (6,10),
(7,8.5). From the coordinates, we can assume on the 7 th
day, the ice was the thinnest indicating that it was
warmer than the other days.

The average rate of change on the point (7,8.5) and (6,10) can be determined using the slope formula.

8.5−10 The average rate of change between the two points is -1.5 cm per day.
m=
7−6
−1.5
m=
1
m=−1.5 cm per day

Question 2:
Since negative time and distance cannot be measured, I have set the domain and range to stay within
positive numbers. The domain is {t | 0 ≤ t ≤ 1.8022, tϵ R}, and the range is {H | 0 ≤ H ≤ 1.5, Hϵ R}.

The shotput was travelling its fastest before it hit the ground (x=0). Due to gravity, when the shotput
was first thrown, it began to slow down as it reached the top of the parabola, where its velocity equals 0
since gravity is working against the force of the shotput. After it reaches the top, it began to speed up
since gravity is now working with it. We can use the quadratic formula to find the point right before the
shotput hit the ground.

The average rate of change on the point -4.9t2+8t+1.5=0

(1.8,0.024)
−b ± √ b −4 ac
2
0.024−0.494 and x=
m= 2a
1.8−1.75 (1.75,0.494)
−8 ± √8 −4 (−4.9)(1.5)
2
−0.47 can be
m= x=
0.05 determined 2(−4.9)
m=−9.4 m/s using the −8 ± √8 −4 (−4.9)(1.5)
2
x=
slope formula. 2(−4.9)
x=1.8
The average rate of change between the
two points is -9.4 meters per second.