So in our Alg II class we're studing variables and functions, and from the situation given we are to figure out the equation.

"In a lighting storm, the time interval betwee the flash ad the bang (f) is directly proportional to the distance between you and the lighting (m)."

Okay so, from the second half of this equation I figured that f=3m . Now the homework is asking us to find what the constant of 3 represents in this real world situation. Any ideas?

The speed of sound in air is 331 m/s, about 1/3 km/s.

The speed of light for short distances is not measurable, and hence negligible.

The delay of the sound with respect to the light is due to the difference of speed of sound and light.

You have missed out the units for f and m, which makes the statement confusing. You could add the time as seconds, and the distance as kilometers, and try to figure something out for the interpretation, based on the numbers I presented earlier.

To find the constant in the equation f = 3m, we need to understand what each variable represents in the real-world situation.

In this context, the letter 'f' represents the time interval between the flash and the bang, and the letter 'm' represents the distance between you and the lightning.

Now, according to the problem statement, the time interval (f) is directly proportional to the distance (m). This means that as the distance increases, the time interval also increases proportionally.

Knowing this, let's consider the value of the constant '3' in the equation f = 3m.

The constant '3' represents the constant of proportionality, which indicates how much the time interval increases per unit of distance. In this case, it means that for every 1 unit increase in distance (m), the time interval (f) increases by 3 units.

Therefore, the constant of '3' in this real-world situation means that for every 1 unit increase in distance from the lightning, the time interval between the flash and the bang increases by 3 units.