Math 10C Module 4: Lesson 5

Module 4: General Relations

Lesson 5: Slope as a Rate of Change

Focus
This shows a photo of an athlete sprinting on a track with a baton in his hand.

© Jim Parkin/shutterstock

 

Did You Know?

 

The 2008 Summer Games were difficult for the USA track team. The women’s 4 × 100 m relay team also dropped a baton. Unlike the men’s team, however, the women’s team finished the race.

A relay race in track and field typically consists of four runners, each running an equal part of the race. For example, in a 4 × 200 m relay race, each of four participants will run a 200-m leg of the race. A critical part of the race involves the passing of a baton from runner to runner. At the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, the 4 × 100 m USA men’s relay team dropped the baton and was consequently disqualified from the event.

The progress of a runner can be graphed on a distance-time graph. The slope of such a graph represents the ratio of the change in distance and the change in time. This rate is better known as the speed.

In this lesson you will investigate slope as a rate of change. You will learn how to construct lines and find points on lines given sufficient information. These concepts will then be applied to problem-solving situations.

Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to

  • draw a line, given its slope and a point on the line

  • determine another point on a line, given the slope and a point on the line

  • explain, using examples, slope as a rate of change

  • solve contextual problems involving slope

Lesson Questions

  • How is the slope of a line related to the dependent and independent variables of a graph?

  • How can slope be used to make predictions about the outcome of certain events?

Lesson Completion and Assessment

 

As you work through each lesson, complete all the questions and learning activities in your binder using paper and pencil, clearly labeling your work (they refer to this as your course folder). These include the Are you Ready, Try This, Share and Self Check questions. Check your work if answers are provided. Remember that these questions provide you with the practice and feedback that you need to successfully complete this course.
Once you have completed all of the learning activities, take the Lesson Quiz. This is the assessment for each lesson and is located under the Assess tab or by using the Quizzes link under the Activities block.


** Note – Share questions may have to be done on your own depending on your learning situation**


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