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4 votes
Determine whether each situation represents a discrete or continuous function.

A. The function y = 30.48x converts length from x feet to y centimeters.

1 of 4.
continuous

B. The function y = 3x + 2 represents the amount of water y in gallons in a tank after x minutes.

2 of 4.
discrete

C. The function y = 50 – 3.5x represents the amount y of money in dollars that you have left after buying x loaves of bread.

3 of 4.
discrete


D. The function y = 10x represents the number of marbles y in x bags.

4 of 4.
continuous

asked
User ArDumez
by
8.4k points

1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

Explanation:

A. The function y = 30.48x converts length from x feet to y centimeters.

This is a continuous function because you can have any real number of feet (x), and it will give you a corresponding real number of centimeters (y) without any gaps or jumps. You can have fractional values of x (e.g., 1.5 feet), and the function will provide a corresponding value for y.

B. The function y = 3x + 2 represents the amount of water y in gallons in a tank after x minutes.

This is a discrete function because time (x) is measured in discrete units (minutes). You can't have fractional minutes in this context, so there are gaps or jumps in the values of x. For each specific integer value of x (e.g., 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, etc.), you can calculate a corresponding value for y.

C. The function y = 50 – 3.5x represents the amount y of money in dollars that you have left after buying x loaves of bread.

This is a discrete function because the number of loaves of bread (x) is typically a discrete quantity. You can't buy a fractional number of loaves, so there are gaps or jumps in the values of x. For each specific integer value of x (e.g., 1 loaf, 2 loaves, 3 loaves, etc.), you can calculate a corresponding value for y.

D. The function y = 10x represents the number of marbles y in x bags.

This is a discrete function because the number of bags (x) is typically a discrete quantity. You can't have a fractional number of bags, so there are gaps or jumps in the values of x. For each specific integer value of x (e.g., 1 bag, 2 bags, 3 bags, etc.), you can calculate a corresponding value for y.

answered
User Yan Bellavance
by
8.1k points
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