A hot air balloon starts at an elevation of 450 feet above ground. It ascends, or goes up, at a constant rate of 900 feet per minute. The equation and graph below represent this situation.
What is the rate of change of this linear function? In other words, by how much does the elevation of the hot air balloon change for every additional minute?
x
y
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0
450
900
1,350
1,800
2,250
2,700
3,150
3,600
4,050
4,500
Time in minutes
Elevation (feet)
y=600x+450
Rate of change: