Discuss WGU Applied Algebra (C957) Exam Topic 1 Question 10

The population of fish in a lake is changing according to the function

where is the number of months since the beginning of the year and is the fish population at time .

Which interpretation of the rate of change is correct?

AThe number of fish in the lake is increasing at a constant rate of 462 fish per month.

BThe number of fish in the lake is decreasing at a constant rate of 462 fish per month.

CThe number of fish in the lake is increasing at a constant rate of 35 fish per month.

DThe number of fish in the lake is decreasing at a constant rate of 35 fish per month.

Suggested Answer: D

The function is:

This is a linear function in the form:

where:

and

In this function:

The negative sign means the fish population is decreasing.

The number tells us the amount of decrease per month.

So the fish population is decreasing by:

The value is not the rate of change. It represents the starting fish population at the beginning of the year, when :

Therefore, the correct interpretation is:

So the correct answer is:

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12 comments · newest first

Mable 3 days ago

C sounds right. A steady increase is good for biodiversity.

Goldie 8 days ago

I disagree, it could be B. Overfishing is a concern.

Catalina 13 days ago

I think it's A. More fish means a healthy lake!

Nadine 18 days ago

I agree, 462 fish is a lot!

Penney 23 days ago

35 fish per month? Sounds too low to me.

Annelle 29 days ago

I’m not sure about that, 462 seems way too high.

Rosio 1 month ago

No way, it’s definitely decreasing at 35 fish per month.

Matthew 1 month ago

I think the population is increasing by 462 fish per month!

Anthony 1 month ago

I’m leaning towards option D because I think we talked about how populations can decrease over time, but I’m not entirely sure about the numbers.

Sheridan 2 months ago

I feel like the rate of 462 fish per month was mentioned in class, but I can't remember if it was an increase or a decrease. That part is really confusing!

Merlyn 2 months ago

I think we practiced a similar question where the rate was clearly defined. If I recall correctly, it was about 35 fish per month, but I can't remember if that was an increase or decrease.

Derick 2 months ago

I remember that we discussed how to interpret the rate of change in population functions, but I'm not sure if it's increasing or decreasing here.

WGU Applied Algebra (C957) Exam - Topic 1 Question 10 Discussion