Final answer:
The rule to describe the function is y = 13 + 0.6x, where y represents the height of the zucchini plant in centimeters and x represents the number of days since it was first planted. To find the number of days it takes for the zucchini plant to be 0.208 meters tall, solve the equation 0.208 = 13 + 0.6x for x. It will take approximately 22 days for the zucchini plant to reach a height of 0.208 meters.
Step-by-step explanation:
a. The rule to describe the function is y = 13 + 0.6x, where y represents the height of the zucchini plant in centimeters and x represents the number of days since it was first planted.
b. To find the number of days it takes for the zucchini plant to be 0.208 meters tall, we need to solve the equation 0.208 = 13 + 0.6x for x. First, subtract 13 from both sides to get 0.208 - 13 = 0.6x. This simplifies to -12.792 = 0.6x. Then, divide both sides by 0.6 to isolate x, which gives x = -12.792 / 0.6 ≈ -21.32. Since the number of days cannot be negative, we ignore the negative value and round up to determine that it will take approximately 22 days for the zucchini plant to be 0.208 meters tall.