Question

tomato plant
the equation for the line of best fit is y = 4x + 7. according to the equation, which of these statements is true?
the tomato plant was about 7 inches tall when polly planted it.
the tomato plant grew about 4 inches every 7 weeks.

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze the linear equation \(y = 4x+7\)

The general form of a linear equation is \(y=mx + b\), where \(m\) is the slope and \(b\) is the \(y\) - intercept.
In the equation \(y = 4x+7\), when \(x = 0\) (initial week, i.e., when the plant was planted), \(y=4\times0 + 7=7\).

Step2: Analyze the slope interpretation

The slope \(m = 4\). In the context of the problem, \(x\) represents the number of weeks and \(y\) represents the height of the plant. The slope \(m=\frac{\Delta y}{\Delta x}\), which means for each unit increase in \(x\) (each week), \(y\) (height) increases by \(4\) inches.

Answer:

The tomato plant was about 7 inches tall when Polly planted it.