SOLUTION: A certain highway is straight and makes a steep descent toward the city. The highway has a 6% grade, which means that its slope is -6/100. Driving on the road, you notice from elev

Question 181552: A certain highway is straight and makes a steep descent toward the city. The highway has a 6% grade, which means that its slope is -6/100. Driving on the road, you notice from elevation signs that you have descended a distance of d = 500 ft. What is the change in your horizontal distance? (Round your answer to the nearest whole number.)
i dont understand how to set this up and solve it!
Found 3 solutions by Alan3354, solver91311, josmiceli:
Answer by Alan3354(69443)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
A certain highway is straight and makes a steep descent toward the city. The highway has a 6% grade, which means that its slope is -6/100. Driving on the road, you notice from elevation signs that you have descended a distance of d = 500 ft. What is the change in your horizontal distance? (Round your answer to the nearest whole number.)
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For each 100' you drive, you descend 6 feet, or each 6 feet of descent takes 100 feet of driving.
Each foot of descent is 100/6 feet of driving.
500 feet of descent would take 500*(100/6) feet of driving.
= 50000/6
= 8,333 feet
Answer by solver91311(24713)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!

For every 100 feet of horizontal distance travelled in a downhill direction, your elevation changes by -6 feet, so for x feet of horizontal distance travelled, your height changes by 500 feet.

Solve the proportion.

John

Answer by josmiceli(19441)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The definition of slope is slope = rise/run. Another definition
is slope = (change in vertical distance) / (change in horizontal distance)
The slope is given by the problem as
The problem also gives you (change in vertical distance) which is
ft
The formula for slope is

This formula is used when 2 points are given and the slope is unknown
I can use this formula because
is given, and
is given, and
is the unknown

Multiply both sides by

Multiply both sides by

answer
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