A dog breeder recorded the weight of a puppy during the first eight months after it was born. The breeder created the equation w = 0.25m + 8.3, where w is the weight of the puppy in pounds and m is the number of months since the puppy was born. What is the meaning of the slope from the breeder's equation?
a) When the puppy is born, the total weight is 0.25 pounds.
b) When the puppy is born, the total weight is 8.3 pounds.
c) For every month after the puppy is born, the weight increases by 8.3 pounds.
d) For every month after the puppy is born, the weight increases by 0.25 pounds.
d) For every month after the puppy is born, the weight increases by 0.25 pounds.
The slope of the equation represents the rate at which the weight of the puppy is increasing for each additional month since its birth. In this case, the slope is 0.25, which means that for every month that passes, the weight of the puppy increases by 0.25 pounds.