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The length a spring stretches varies directly with a weight placed at the end of the spring. When Meredith placed a 6-pound cantaloupe on a hanging scale, the spring stretched 2 inches. How far would the spring stretch if the cantaloupe weighed 9 pounds?

3 inches

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The amount that June gets paid varies directly the number of hours she works. When she worked 15 hours, she got paid $111. How much will she be paid for working 18 hours?

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The fuel consumption (mpg) of a car varies inversely with its weight. A Ford Focus weighs 3000 pounds and gets 28.7 mpg on the highway. What would the fuel consumption be for a Ford Expedition that weighs 5,500 pounds? Round to the nearest tenth.

15.6 mpg

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The volume of a gas in a container varies inversely as the pressure on the gas. If a container of argon has a volume of 336 cubic inches under a pressure of 2,500 psi, what will be its volume if the pressure is decreased to 2,000 psi?

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The distance an object falls varies directly to the square of the time it falls. If an object falls 52.8 feet in 4 seconds, how far will it fall in 9 seconds?

267.3 feet

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The area of the face of a Ferris wheel varies directly with the square of its radius. If the area of one face of a Ferris wheel with diameter 150 feet is 70,650 square feet, what is the area of one face of a Ferris wheel with diameter of 16 feet?

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Everyday math

Ride Service It costs $35 for a ride from the city center to the airport, 14 miles away.

  1. Write the equation that relates the cost, c , with the number of miles, m .
  2. What would it cost to travel 22 miles with this service?

c = 2.5 m $55

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Road Trip The number of hours it takes Jack to drive from Boston to Bangor is inversely proportional to his average driving speed. When he drives at an average speed of 40 miles per hour, it takes him 6 hours for the trip.

  1. Write the equation that relates the number of hours, h , with the speed, s.
  2. How long would the trip take if his average speed was 75 miles per hour?
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Writing exercises

In your own words, explain the difference between direct variation and inverse variation.

Answers will vary.

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Make up an example from your life experience of inverse variation.

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Self check

After completing the exercises, use this checklist to evaluate your mastery of the objectives of this section.

This image is four columns and three rows. The first row is the header row. The first header is labeled “I can…”, the second “Confidently”, the third, “With some help”, and the fourth “No – I don’t get it!”. In the first column under “I can”, the next row reads “solve direct variation problems.”, the next row reads “solve direct variation problems.” The remaining columns are blank.

After looking at the checklist, do you think you are well-prepared for the next chapter? Why or why not?

Simplify Rational Expressions

Determine the Values for Which a Rational Expression is Undefined

In the following exercises, determine the values for which the rational expression is undefined.

2 a + 1 3 a 2

a 2 3

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u 3 u 2 u 30

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Evaluate Rational Expressions

In the following exercises, evaluate the rational expressions for the given values.

4 p 1 p 2 + 5 when p = −1

5 6

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q 2 5 q + 3 when q = 7

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y 2 8 y 2 y 2 when y = 1

7 2

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z 2 + 2 4 z z 2 when z = 3

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Simplify Rational Expressions

In the following exercises, simplify.

b 2 + 7 b + 12 b 2 + 8 b + 16

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Simplify Rational Expressions with Opposite Factors

In the following exercises, simplify.

c 2 c 2 4 c 2

c + 1 c + 2

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7 v 35 25 v 2

7 5 + v

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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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