The m represents the rate of change of the function
This is the amount the function increases/decreases when x increases by 1
If the function is increasing m is positive
If the function is decreasing m is negative
When the model is represented as a graph this is the gradient of the line
The c represents the value of the function when x = 0
This is the value of the function when the independent variable is not present
This is usually referred to as the initial value
When the model is represented as a graph this is the y-intercept of the line
What can be modelled as a linear model?
If the graph of the data resembles a straight line
Anything with a constant rate of change
C(d)is the taxi charge for a journey of d km
B(m)is the monthly mobile phone bill when m minutes have been used
R(d)is the rental fee for a car used for d days
d(t) is the distance travelled by a car moving at a constant speed for t seconds
What are possible limitations of a linear model?
Linear models continuously increase (or decrease) at the same rate
In real-life this might not be the case
The function might reach a maximum (or minimum)
If the value of m is negative then for some inputs the function will predict negative values
In some real-life situations negative values will not make sense
To overcome this you can decide on an appropriate domain so that the outputs are never negative
Exam Tip
Make sure that you are equally confident in working with linear models both algebraically and graphically as it may be easier using one method over the other when tackling a particular exam question
Worked Example
a)Calculate the cost of the gym membership for 20 weeks.
b)Find the number of weeks it takes for the total cost to exceed 1500 NZD.
c)Under new management, FitFirst changes the initial payment to 20 NZD and the weekly cost to 19.25 NZD. Write the new cost function after these changes have been.