Question

i have a math question a certain mountain has an elevation of 19,173 feet. In 1918, the glacier on this peak covered 7 acres. By 2000 this glacier had melted to only 1 acre. Assume that the glacier melted at a constant rate each year. Find the yearly rate

Answer 1

You can use the slope (constant rate) formula to get your answer:

You can get 2 points from this graph:
(1918, 7) and (2000, 1). y2 = 1, y1 = 7, x2=2000, x1=1918.
Use the slope formula to find the the rate. (Note you can only use this because the change is constant): Plug in the values above in the equation below to find the rate:
\[slope = \frac{ y _{2} - y _{1} }{ x _{2} - x _{1} }\]
constant rate = -3/41 or the glacier melted 13.67 acres each year since 1918 to 2000.