A school system is reducing the amount of dumpster loads of trash removed each week.

Question

In week 5, there were 40 dumpster loads of waste removed. In week 10, there were 30 dumpster loads removed. Assume that the reduction in the amount of waste each week is linear. Write an equation in function form to show the amount of trash removed each week.

Answer 1

As 5 weeks go by, 10 loads are reduced. Since it is linear we can assume at 0 weeks 50 loads were removed, so that can be our y-intercept. All we need is the slope, which is RISE/RUN. the rise is negative 10 loads, and the run is 5 weeks. -10/5 = -2.

Therefore the following formula should work

f(x)= 50 - 2x