Question

the graph provides a good approximation of the number of food - stamp recipients (in millions) from 1994 through 2004. use the given ordered pairs to find the average rate of change in food - stamp recipients per year during this period. the average rate of change is □ million recipients per year (type an integer or decimal rounded to two decimal places as needed.) interpret what a negative slope means in this situation. a. the total decrease of recipients over 1994 - 2004 is 0.58 million. b. the number of recipients decreases by 0.58 million a year. c. the number of recipients increases by 0.58 million a year.

Explanation:

Step1: Recall slope formula

The slope formula for two - points \((x_1,y_1)\) and \((x_2,y_2)\) is \(m=\frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1}\). Here, let \((x_1,y_1)=(1994,27.8)\) and \((x_2,y_2)=(2004,22)\).

Step2: Substitute values

\(m=\frac{22 - 27.8}{2004 - 1994}=\frac{- 5.8}{10}=-0.58\).

Step3: Interpret the slope

A negative slope means that the number of food - stamp recipients decreases by 0.58 million per year.

Answer:

The average rate of change is \(-0.58\) million recipients per year. A negative slope means the number of food - stamp recipients decreases by 0.58 million a year. So the answer is B.