Sam bought a new fertilizer spreader for his yard. It has a dial on the handle that adjusts the flow of the fertilizer. The dial setting is from 0 to 10. He has learned that if he sets the dial to 10, then one bag of fertilizer will cover only 500 square feet of his yard. The setting varies inversely with area it will cover. How many square feet should one bag cover if the dial is set to 4?

Question

parthkohli · Answer

$$y = {k \over x} $$$$k = xy $$Let's assume that $x = \text{dial}$ and $ y = {area}$.

parthkohli · Answer

$$k = 500 \times 10 = 5000 $$Now, as we know what $k$ and $x$ are, we may find $y$.
As per our knowledge, we have $k = 5000$ and $x = 4$. We need to find $y$.

parthkohli · Answer

$$y = {k\over x} $$$$\implies y = {5000\over 4} $$

anonymous · Answer

so I assume that  it is going to cover 5000 square feet? this inverse part is very struggling for me.

parthkohli · Answer

Yes. It will always cover the same area, but $y$ and $x$ will change.

anonymous · Answer

th

parthkohli · Answer

What happens is that if one variable increases, other decreases.

parthkohli · Answer

We could say that the total area covered is a constant $k$.

anonymous · Answer

thank you very much for the help.

parthkohli · Answer

You're welcome, and thank you for rewarding me.

parthkohli · Answer

:)