SOLUTION: Hi I have a question that I need help with and was wondering if you could help? A young sumo wrestler decided to go on a special diet to gain weight rapidly. He gained weight at

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Question 1130237: Hi I have a question that I need help with and was wondering if you could help?
A young sumo wrestler decided to go on a special diet to gain weight rapidly. He gained weight at a constant rate.
The table compares the wrestler's weight (in kilograms) and the time since he started his diet (in months).
Time (months)
Weight (kilograms)
0.50.5
0.5
80.680.6
80.6
22
2
88.488.4
88.4
3.53.5
3.5
96.296.2
96.2
What was the wrestler's weight before he went on his diet?

Found 2 solutions by solver91311, MathLover1:
Answer by solver91311(24713) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!



Your table is nonsense. Post something that we can read and understand please.


John

My calculator said it, I believe it, that settles it

Answer by MathLover1(20850) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
if you have this table:
t.................w%28t%29
0.5..............80.6
2 ................88.4
3.5 ..............96.2
it’s linear function, use two points to find equation of that line
w%28t%29=mt%2Bb
first find a slope m using two points
m=%28w%28t%29-w%28t%29%5B1%5D%29%2F%28t-t%5B1%5D%29
m=%2888.4-80.6%29%2F%282-0.5%29
m=%287.8%29%2F%281.5%29
m=5.2

w%28t%29=5.2t%2Bb.....use one point and calculate b (t=3.5,w%28t%29=96.2+)
96.2=5.2%2A3.5%2Bb
96.2=18.2%2Bb
b=96.2-18.2
b=78

so, your equation is:
w%28t%29=5.2t%2B78

What was the wrestler's weight before he went on his diet?
weight before he went on his diet what w%280%29 is, and that is 78