Answer:
[tex]0.075\ \frac{inches}{year}[/tex]
Step-by-step explanation:
Let
y ----> the diameter in inches of the tree
x ----> the number of years since 1965
1965 is the year 0 years
2005 is the year (2005-1965)=40 years
so
we have the ordered pair
(0,248) and (40, 251)
we know that
The average rate of change is the same that the slope o the linear equation
The formula to calculate the slope between two points is equal to
[tex]m=\frac{y2-y1}{x2-x1}[/tex]
substitute the given values
[tex]m=\frac{251-248}{40-0}[/tex]
[tex]m=\frac{3}{40}=0.075\ \frac{inches}{year}[/tex]
