document.write( "<A HREF=/cgi-bin/jump-to-question.mpl?question=74214>Question 74214</A>This question is from textbook <A HREF=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0072549017/algebrahomeworkh>Beginning Algebra</A><BR>\n" );
document.write( ": <I><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> Driving down a mountain, Tom finds that he has descended 1800 ft in elevation by the time he is 3.25 mi horizontally away from the top of the mountain. Find the slope of his descent to the nearest hundredth. </SPAN>\n" );
document.write( "</I><HR><TABLE width=100%><TR><TD><B><A HREF=http://www.algebra.com/>Algebra.Com's</A> Answer #53205 by </B><A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=bucky><B>bucky(2189)</B></A><img src=\"/images/stars/stars-13.gif\" alt=\"\" >&nbsp;<A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=bucky><IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/images/aboutme-small.gif BORDER=0 alt=\"About Me\" VALIGN=MIDDLE></A>&nbsp;<IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/images/nopicture.jpg><BR>You can <A HREF=\"/cgi-bin/embed-solution.mpl?show=1&solution=53205\">put this solution on YOUR website!</A><BR><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> Be careful of this one.  Slope normally is thought to be the same units in both the horizontal<BR>\n" );
document.write( "and vertical directions.  In this problem you have feet vertically and horizontally.<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "You can either change the 1800 feet to units of miles, or you can change the 3.25 miles to <BR>\n" );
document.write( "units of feet.  Then what you do is divide the vertical distance by the horizontal distance and<BR>\n" );
document.write( "recognize that the vertical distance is negative because it is going down.<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "First let's change the vertical distance to miles.  Since there are 5280 feet in a mile, the<BR>\n" );
document.write( "1800 feet down translates to (-1800/5280) miles which calculates to -0.34091 miles.  Then<BR>\n" );
document.write( "divide this vertical distance by the horizontal distance of 3.25 miles to get:<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "(-0.34091/3.25) = -0.104895 which to the nearest hundredth is -0.10 slope.  (Commonly<BR>\n" );
document.write( "called a 10% downhill grade.)<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "Or we could have changed the 3.25 miles to feet and then divided it into the -1800 feet vertical<BR>\n" );
document.write( "drop. <BR>\n" );
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document.write( "(3.25 miles)*(5280 feet/mile) = 17160 feet<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "Divide that into -1800 and you get (-1800/17160) = -0.104895.  Same answer as before.<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "Hope this helps you.  Be careful to have the same dimensions on both measurements, <BR>\n" );
document.write( "use a minus sign to indicate down hill movement, and remember that slope is the vertical<BR>\n" );
document.write( "change divided by the corresponding horizontal change (by definition).   </SPAN>\n" );
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