Question

A person is waiting in line to get into a sporting event. The data in the table represents the relative position, in feet, of the person to the entry gate over time in seconds.

What does the slope of the linear equation that models the data represent?

The person is moving closer to the entry gate at a rate of 1.5 feet per second.

The person’s speed is increasing as the person approaches the entry gate.

The person’s speed is decreasing as the person approaches the entry gate.

The person is moving farther away from the entry gate at a rate of 1.5 feet per second.

Answer 1

Each time x goes up by 1, y goes down by 1.5

So,

Slope = rise/run = (change in y)/(change in x) = -1.5/1 = -1.5

indicating that the distance to the gate y is decreasing at a rate of -1.5 ft/second. Put another way, the person is moving 1.5 ft per second closer to the entry gate. 

This is why the answer is choice A