Interpreting linear formulas word problems

The  exercise appears under the 8th Grade Math Mission. This exercise helps to understand the interpretations of properties of linear functions.

Types of Problems
There are two types of problems in this exercise:


 * 1) Interpret the intercept and slope from graph: This problem provides a word problem and a graph that describes the situation. The student is asked to find and interpret the meaning of the y-intercept and the slope, and then select the correct interpretation from a multiple choice list.Ilf1.png
 * 2) Interpret the intercept and slope from chart: This problem provides a word problem and a chart that describes the situation. The student is asked to find and interpret the meaning of the y-intercept and the slope, and then select the correct interpretation from a multiple choice list.Ilf2.png

Strategies
Knowledge of the meaning of slope and y-intercept are slightly more important than calculating them in this exercise.
 * 1) The y-intercept is the initial value of the word problem.
 * 2) The slope generally describes the rate of change for a linear model.

Real-life applications

 * 1) Lines have many applications in business and the sciences.
 * 2) Intercepts tend to be initial conditions, and slope is the unit rate of change to move along the x-axis units. (In physics, time, in business, units created, etc.)