Son needs help

mjohnsonc335

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Jun 13, 2018
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Hi, my son is taking Algebra 1 in high school and he's having problem with algebra. I can't help him because it's been over 30 years since I've taken algebra. I would appreciate any help in solving this problem. Thank you.

In 1924, the Bugatti Type 35 was the fastest car, topping out at 90 mph. Today the 2015, Bugatti Veyron SS has a top speed of 270 mph.

Determine the year in which an automobile will be able to reach a top speed of 360 mph.

Thank you again.
 
In 1924, the Bugatti Type 35 was the fastest car, topping out at 90 mph. Today the 2015, Bugatti Veyron SS has a top speed of 270 mph.

Determine the year in which an automobile will be able to reach a top speed of 360 mph.

The question as stated is nonsense. There is no way to predict that.

I would guess that they might have said, IF we assume that car speeds continue increasing at the same RATE, determine the year ...

Is that right? Please quote the entire problem exactly as given, so we can be sure.

Supposing that I am right, I'd also like to know what your son has been learning, because there are several ways he might be expected to approach the problem. This is part of the reason we ask to see work -- it gives a clue as to what methods are appropriate.

One way would be to write a linear function representing the top speed t years after 1924. That seems appropriate for beginning algebra.

But a more direct way is to observe that the top speed increased by 180 mph (270 - 90) over 91 years (2015 - 1924). How much did the speed increase each year (on average)? That would be the "rate" I mentioned in my addition to the problem. How many years would it take to increase from 270 to 360?

With more input from you, we can probably come up with a method your son can try. But we really need to see what he has done, or thinks he might be expected to do, or maybe an example of a similar type. That would help us give the best help we can.
 
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