Question

A biologist has been observing a tree's height. Thirteen months into the observation, the tree was 21.74 feet tall. Sixteen months into the observation, the tree was 22.58 feet tall. What is the rate at which the tree is growing? In other words, what is the slope if you plotted height versus time? Use ft for feet and mo for months.

Answer 1

we have two values of time and height

these could serve as our x and y

`\begin{gathered} x_1=13,y_1=21.74_{} \\ x_2=16,y_2=22.58 \end{gathered}`

to find the tree's growth rate, we find the slope.

`=\frac{y_2-y_1}{x_(2-)x_{1_{}}}\text{ =}\frac{22.58\text{ - 21.74}}{16\text{ -13}}=(0.84)/(3)=\text{ 0.28 f}t\text{ /mo}`