The owner of a gas station records the number of gallons of gas he sells over a period of time. He notices that the number of gallons of gas he sells depends linearly on the price he charges for each gallon. When he charges $1.71 per gallon of gas he sells 800 gallons of gas each day. When he charges $2.41 per gallon he sells 400 gallons. What does the slope of the line convey about the situation?
A) None of the above
B) The price of each gallon when 800 gallons are sold.
C) The number of gallons sold decreases by 571 for each one dollar increase in price.
D) The price of each gallon per number of gallons sold.
E) The number of gallons sold at $1.71 per gallon.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The slope of the line represents the rate of change of the dependent variable (gallons sold) with respect to the independent variable (price per gallon). In this case, the slope is equal to (400-800)/($2.41-$1.71), which simplifies to -400/$0.70= -571.43. This means that for every one dollar increase in price per gallon, the number of gallons sold decreases by 571.43.

The Owner of a Gas Station Records the Number of Gallons