Question

The temperature at 7pm at a weather station in Minnesota was -5 degrees F. The temperature began changing at a rate of -2.5 degrees F per hour. What was the temperature at 10 pm?

Answer 1

To answer this question, set up an equation that models the temperature every hour:

y=-2.5x-5

y is the temperature in Fahrenheit, -2.5 is hourly temperature change in Fahrenheit, x is the number of hours after 7 p.m., and -5 was the original temperature in Fahrenheit, at 7 p.m.

Now, to find the temperature at 10 p.m., calculate how many hours 10 p.m. is from 7 p.m. through subtraction:

10-7=3

You can plug 3 into the equation for x and then solve for y to get your final answer:

y=-2.5(3)-5

y=-7.5-5

y=-12.5

The temperature at 10 p.m. was -12.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hope this helps!!