Question

(1) vacation days taken by simon
(2) year
(3) vacation days
2017:29
2018:23
2019:23
2020:23
2021:26
(a) according to the table, when was the rate of decrease greater?
between 2018 and 2019
between 2017 and 2020

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate the rate of decrease between 2017 - 2018

The formula for the rate of decrease is \(\text{Rate of Decrease}=\frac{\text{Initial Value}-\text{Final Value}}{\text{Initial Value}}\).
For 2017 - 2018: Initial value \(= 29\), Final value \(= 23\).
\(\text{Rate of Decrease}=\frac{29 - 23}{29}=\frac{6}{29}\approx0.207\)

Step2: Calculate the rate of decrease between 2018 - 2019

For 2018 - 2019: Initial value \(= 23\), Final value \(= 23\).
\(\text{Rate of Decrease}=\frac{23 - 23}{23}=0\)

Step3: Calculate the rate of decrease between 2019 - 2020

For 2019 - 2020: Initial value \(= 23\), Final value \(= 23\).
\(\text{Rate of Decrease}=\frac{23 - 23}{23}=0\)

Step4: Calculate the rate of decrease between 2020 - 2021

For 2020 - 2021: Initial value \(= 23\), Final value \(= 26\). This is an increase, so we ignore it as we are looking for decrease.

Answer:

The rate of decrease was greater between 2017 and 2018.