Representations of linear functions
Electric bill
Your electric bill pays for
energy produced by burning coal or gas, or by hydroelectric or nuclear
plants. The energy is measured in units of kilowatt-hour,
which is the amount of energy needed to operate an appliance
whose energy consumption is 1000 watts for one hour.
For example, a 100-watt lightbulb consumes 1 killowat-hour
when it is on for 10 hours. You can learn about the
energy consumption of various home appliances
at the site of the
US Departement of Energy.
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Find out about the prices charged for electricity from the Internet sites of electricity suppliers in
your area.
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Record the different rates and describe how they differ from
each other. What do you think are the reasons for these differences?
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Construct functions to show the different rates, and display them
in various representations.
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When you present a function with a graph, you need to choose a
scale. Describe your considerations for choosing scales for your graphs.
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When you present a function using a value table, you need to
choose the range of values (the smallest and largest values of
the variable x) and a step size.
Describe your considerations for choosing these values.
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