The table shows the linear relationship between the elevation in feet of an airplane as it descends and the number of minutes.
The table:
Number of Minutes 2, 4, 7, 12
Elevation (ft): 29,000, 26,000, 21,500, 14,000
What is the rate of change of the elevation of the airplane with respect to the number of minutes since the plane started its descent
To find the rate of change of the elevation with respect to the number of minutes, we need to calculate the slope of the line that represents the linear relationship between the elevation and the number of minutes.
First, let's choose two points from the table, for example, (2, 29,000) and (4, 26,000).
The change in elevation is: 26,000 - 29,000 = -3,000 ft
The change in the number of minutes is: 4 - 2 = 2 minutes
Therefore, the rate of change of the elevation with respect to the number of minutes is: -3,000 ft / 2 minutes = -1500 ft/minute.
So, the rate of change of the elevation of the airplane with respect to the number of minutes since the plane started its descent is -1500 ft/minute.