Q:

Ashley reads 2 pages/minute for 10 minutes, takes a 10 minute break, and then reads at the same rate for 10 more minutes. Adam reads at the same rate the entire time. The equation for the number of pages he reads is y=1.2x. How are these functions similar? How are they different?

Accepted Solution

A:
~In a total of 30 minutes Ashley has read 40 pages (20 the first 10 minutes and 20 more pages after her break)
~y=1.2x
~y is the total amount of pages Adam read
~x is the amount of time he read
~The function for Ashley should look like this y=2x
~The functions are similar because they both read at a constant rate for a constant amount of time
~The functions are different because Ashley reads 2 pages a minute where as Adam reads more or less (depending on if Adam took a break or not)
~I figure this because even though Adam's pages per minute is less, assuming he doesn't take a break his function (if graphed) could eventually exceed Ashley's.

For Example:
let's say Ashley reads for 10 minutes (2 pages per minute) she takes a 5 minute break and reads for another 10 minutes (also 2 pages a minute)
That would look like this: