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Substitute the given information into the equation. Can you recognize a constant of proportionality?
Solution: Yes, they are proportional.
Graph:
Let's begin by recalling the definition of a proportional relationship.
When two quantities x and y are proportional, the relationship between them can be represented by the equation y= mx. |
d=rt In this equation d is the distance (in feet), r is the rate (in feet per second), and t is the time (in seconds). Since we know that we run for 50 seconds, we can substitute 50 for t into the above formula. d=r( 50) ⇒ d=50r We can see that now our formula represents a proportional relationship because one quantity — distance — is equal to the other quantity — rate — multiplied by a constant value.
Since we want to use a graph to justify our answer, let's make a table of values for our distance formula.
r | d=50r | d | (r,d) |
---|---|---|---|
0 | d=50( 0) | 0 | ( 0, 0) |
1 | d=50( 1) | 50 | ( 1, 50) |
2 | d=50( 2) | 100 | ( 2, 100) |
3 | d=50( 3) | 150 | ( 3, 150) |
Let's plot the ordered pairs and draw a line through the points. Our line will be only in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane because negative values of rate do not make sense.
We obtain a line with a slope of 50 that passes through the origin. Therefore, our equation is a proportional relationship.