Maleia is tracking her running training program. The table gives her 5K run time at the end of each month.

| Month | Time (minutes) |
|-------|----------------|
| 1 | 46 |
| 2 | 42 |
| 3 | 40 |
| 4 | 41 |
| 5 | 38 |
| 6 | 36 |

What is the equation for the line of best fit where [tex]\(x\)[/tex] represents the month and [tex]\(y\)[/tex] represents the time?

A. [tex]\( y = -174x + 466 \)[/tex]
B. [tex]\( y = -1.74x + 36.2 \)[/tex]
C. [tex]\( y = 174x + 466 \)[/tex]
D. [tex]\( y = 1.74x + 36.2 \)[/tex]



Answer :

To determine the equation for the line of best fit given Maleia's running data over six months, we need to follow these steps:

1. Plot the Months vs. Times:
[tex]\[ \begin{array}{|c|c|} \hline \text{Month} & \text{Time (minutes)} \\ \hline 1 & 46 \\ \hline 2 & 42 \\ \hline 3 & 40 \\ \hline 4 & 41 \\ \hline 5 & 38 \\ \hline 6 & 36 \\ \hline \end{array} \][/tex]

2. Find the Line of Best Fit:
The line of best fit is typically in the form [tex]\( y = mx + b \)[/tex], where [tex]\( m \)[/tex] is the slope and [tex]\( b \)[/tex] is the y-intercept.

3. Calculate the Slope and Intercept:
We've identified the slope ([tex]\( m \)[/tex]) and intercept ([tex]\( b \)[/tex]) for the line of best fit as follows:
- The slope ([tex]\( m \)[/tex]) is approximately [tex]\( -1.742857142857142 \)[/tex].
- The y-intercept ([tex]\( b \)[/tex]) is approximately [tex]\( 46.6 \)[/tex].

4. Form the Equation:
Using the calculated slope and y-intercept, we can now write the equation of the line of best fit:
[tex]\[ y = -1.74x + 46.6 \][/tex]

Given this, let's compare it with the provided options:
[tex]\[ \begin{align*} &\text{Option 1: } y = -174x + 466 & \quad (\text{Incorrect}) \\ &\text{Option 2: } y = -1.74x + 36.2 & \quad (\text{Incorrect}) \\ &\text{Option 3: } y = 174x + 466 & \quad (\text{Incorrect}) \\ &\text{Option 4: } y = 1.74x + 36.2 & \quad (\text{Incorrect}) \\ \end{align*} \][/tex]

Thus, none of the options exactly match the precise result [tex]\( y = -1.74x + 46.6 \)[/tex]. However, if the correct answer had to be chosen from the given options and accepting a slight rounding error, [tex]\( y = -1.74x + 36.2 \)[/tex] would be closest in terms of the slope, but it has an incorrect intercept.

Given the provided correct numerical findings, there is no perfect match within the provided choices.

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