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Michelle is scuba diving. Her position changes from -2.1 m to -38.6 m in [tex]6 \frac{1}{4}[/tex] minutes. What is the average change in Michelle's position each minute?

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Answer :

To find the average change in Michelle's position each minute, let's go through the steps together:

1. Determine the Initial and Final Positions:
- Initial position: [tex]\(-2.1\)[/tex] meters
- Final position: [tex]\(-38.6\)[/tex] meters

2. Calculate the Change in Position:
- The change in position is the final position minus the initial position.
- Change in position = [tex]\(-38.6 - (-2.1) = -38.6 + 2.1 = -36.5\)[/tex] meters

3. Convert the Time from Mixed Number to Decimal:
- The total time given is [tex]\(6 \frac{1}{4}\)[/tex] minutes.
- This can be converted to a decimal by noting that [tex]\(\frac{1}{4} = 0.25\)[/tex].
- So, [tex]\(6 \frac{1}{4} = 6 + 0.25 = 6.25\)[/tex] minutes.

4. Calculate the Average Change in Position per Minute:
- We divide the total change in position by the total time to find the average change per minute.
- Average change per minute = [tex]\(\frac{-36.5}{6.25} = -5.84\)[/tex] meters per minute

Thus, the average change in Michelle's position each minute is [tex]\(-5.84\)[/tex] meters. This means she descends at a rate of 5.84 meters per minute.