Question

\text{How much snow was on the ground when the storm started?}How much snow was on the ground when the storm started?

Answer 1

To compute the rate of snow falling during the first snowfall we have to compute the slope of the first line of the given piecewise graph.

Recall that the slope of a line that passes through two given points is:

$\frac{y_2-y_1_{}}{x_2-x_1}\text{.}$

Notice that the first line of the given piecewise graph passes through the points (0,1) and (4,7), therefore its slope is:

$\frac{7-1}{4-0}=\frac{6}{4}=\frac{3}{2}\text{.}$

In this case, the above result means that the rate of snow falling during the first snowfall is:

3 inches every 2 hours.

Answer: 3 inches every 2 hours.