Question

w = -\frac{1}{2}m + 16
henrys water bottle is leaking at a constant rate. the amount of water, w, in ounces, that is left in the water bottle after leaking for m minutes is given by the equation. what does the -\frac{1}{2} mean in the equation?

Explanation:

The equation $W =-\frac{1}{2}m + 16$ is in slope - intercept form $y=mx + b$. Here, $m$ (the coefficient of the independent variable) represents the rate of change. Since $W$ is the amount of water left and $m$ is time, $-\frac{1}{2}$ is the rate at which the water is leaking per minute. The negative sign indicates that the amount of water is decreasing.

Answer:

The amount of water in the bottle decreases by $\frac{1}{2}$ ounce per minute.