Question

tracie rides the bus home from school each day. the graph represents her distance from home relative to the number of minutes since the bus left the school. what does the slope of the graph mean? tracies bus travels towards her home at an average speed of 1/2 mile per minute. tracies bus travels towards her home at an average speed of 2 miles per minute. tracies bus travels away from her home at an average speed of 1/2 mile per minute. tracies bus travels away from her home at an average speed of 2 miles per minute.

Explanation:

Step1: Recall slope - speed relationship

Slope of distance - time graph is speed.

Step2: Determine direction and calculate slope

The distance from home is decreasing, so bus is moving towards home. Using two points (0, 9) and (10, 4), slope $m=\frac{4 - 9}{10-0}=\frac{- 5}{10}=-\frac{1}{2}$. The magnitude of slope gives speed, which is $\frac{1}{2}$ mile per minute.

Answer:

Tracie's bus travels towards her home at an average speed of $\frac{1}{2}$ mile per minute.