Julie needs to cut 4 pieces of yarn, each with the same length, and a piece of yarn 7.75 inches long. Let x represent the length of each of the equal pieces of yarn that Julie decides to cut. What is the equation that can be used to determine the total length of all of the yarn that she ends up cutting, y? Is the graph of the equation continuous or discrete?

y=7.75x+4; discrete
y=7.75x+4; continuous
y=4x+7.75; discrete
y=4x+7.75; continuous

Question

Julie needs to cut 4 pieces of yarn, each with the same length, and a piece of yarn 7.75 inches long. Let x represent the length of each of the equal pieces of yarn that Julie decides to cut. What is the equation that can be used to determine the total length of all of the yarn that she ends up cutting, y? Is the graph of the equation continuous or discrete?

y=7.75x+4; discrete
y=7.75x+4; continuous
y=4x+7.75; discrete
y=4x+7.75; continuous

Mercury · Answer

since there are 4 pieces, total length = (4)(length of each piece)

total length = 4(length of each piece) + (the 7.75 piece)

represent this as an equation with the variables specified in the problem. now, as to whether it's discrete or continuous: think about what values x can take. can it take *any* value within a certain range? or is it limited to certain integers/numbers?