Question

the dalton city subway slowed down as it approached its final destination. this situation can be modeled as a linear relationship. complete the statement that describes the situation. the subway was going miles per hour before it started slowing. as it approached its final destination, the subways speed decreased miles per hour every second.

Explanation:

Step1: Find the initial speed

The initial speed is the \(y\) - intercept of the linear relationship. When \(x = 0\) (before it started slowing), from the graph, \(y=18\).

Step2: Calculate the slope (rate of change of speed)

The slope \(m=\frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1}\). Let \((x_1,y_1)=(0,18)\) and \((x_2,y_2)=(1,15)\)

$$m=\frac{15 - 18}{1-0}=\frac{- 3}{1}=-3$$

Answer:

The subway was going \(18\) miles per hour before it started slowing. As it approached its final destination, the subway's speed decreased \(3\) miles per hour every second.