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The price of gas that Jesse purchased varies directly to how many gallons he purchased. He purchased 10 gallons of gas for $39.80.

  1. Write the equation that relates the price to the number of gallons.
  2. How much will it cost Jesse for 15 gallons of gas?

p = 3.98 g $ 59.70

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The distance that Sarah travels varies directly to how long she drives. She travels 440 miles in 8 hours.

  1. Write the equation that relates the distance to the number of hours.
  2. How far can Sally travel in 6 hours?
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The mass of a liquid varies directly with its volume. A liquid with mass 16 kilograms has a volume of 2 liters.

  1. Write the equation that relates the mass to the volume.
  2. What is the volume of this liquid if its mass is 128 kilograms?

m = 8 v 16 liters

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The length that a spring stretches varies directly with a weight placed at the end of the spring. When Sarah placed a 10 pound watermelon on a hanging scale, the spring stretched 5 inches.

  1. Write the equation that relates the length of the spring to the weight.
  2. What weight of watermelon would stretch the spring 6 inches?
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The distance an object falls varies directly to the square of the time it falls. A ball falls 45 feet in 3 seconds.

  1. Write the equation that relates the distance to the time.
  2. How far will the ball fall in 7 seconds?

d = 5 t 2 245 feet

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The maximum load a beam will support varies directly with the square of the diagonal of the beam’s cross-section. A beam with diagonal 6 inch will support a maximum load of 108 pounds.

  1. Write the equation that relates the load to the diagonal of the cross-section.
  2. What load will a beam with a 10 inch diagonal support?
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The area of a circle varies directly as the square of the radius. A circular pizza with a radius of 6 inches has an area of 113.04 square inches.

  1. Write the equation that relates the area to the radius.
  2. What is the area of a personal pizza with a radius 4 inches?

A = 3.14 r 2 50.24 sq. in.

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The distance an object falls varies directly to the square of the time it falls. A ball falls 72 feet in 3 seconds,

  1. Write the equation that relates the distance to the time.
  2. How far will the ball have fallen in 8 seconds?
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Solve Inverse Variation Problems

In the following exercises, solve.

If y varies inversely with x and y = 5 when x = 4 find the equation that relates x and y .

y = 20 x

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If p varies inversely with q and p = 2 when q = 1 find the equation that relates p and q .

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If v varies inversely with w and v = 6 when w = 1 2 find the equation that relates v and w .

v = 3 w

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If a varies inversely with b and a = 12 when b = 1 3 find the equation that relates a and b .

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Write an inverse variation equation to solve the following problems.

The fuel consumption (mpg) of a car varies inversely with its weight. A Toyota Corolla weighs 2800 pounds and gets 33 mpg on the highway.

  1. Write the equation that relates the mpg to the car’s weight.
  2. What would the fuel consumption be for a Toyota Sequoia that weighs 5500 pounds?

g = 92,400 w 16.8 mpg

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A car’s value varies inversely with its age. Jackie bought a 10 year old car for $2,400.

  1. Write the equation that relates the car’s value to its age.
  2. What will be the value of Jackie’s car when it is 15 years old ?
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Source:  OpenStax, Elementary algebra. OpenStax CNX. Jan 18, 2017 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col12116/1.2
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