302 Chapter 7 The Mathematics of Patterns & Nature

7.1 Linear Patterns

Recognize and describe a linear pattern.
Use a linear pattern to predict a future event.
Recognize a proportional pattern.

Recognizing a Linear Pattern

A sequence of numbers has a linear pattern when each successive number
Study Tip increases (or decreases) by the same amount.
Linear patterns involving
two variables are called Recognizing a Linear Pattern
linear because when one
variable is graphed in Anthropologists use tables like those at the left to estimate the height of a person
relationship to the other based on part of the person’s skeleton.
variable, the result is a line.
a. Does the table relating the length of a man’s femur (upper leg bone) to the
man’s height represent a linear pattern?
A B b. The femur length of a Roman soldier is 18 inches. What was the height of
Femur Height the Roman soldier?
1 Length (in.) (in.)
2 14 58.32 SOLUTION
3 15 60.20 a. To determine whether the table represents a linear pattern, find the differences
4 16 62.08 between
betwee consecutive terms.
5 17 63.96 Men’s Height
6 18 65.84 A B
80
7 19 67.72 Femur Height
8 20 69.60 1 Length
Le (in.) (in.) 75
Height (inches)

9 21 71.48 2 14 58.32
1.88 70
10 22 73.36 3 15 60.20
1.88
11 23 75.24 4 16 62.08 65
1.88
12 24 77.12 5 17 63.96
1.88 60
6 18 65.84
8 19 67 72 55
Each time the femur length increases 50
by 1 inch, the height of the man 10 15 20 25
increases by 1.88 inches. So, the Femur length (inches)
pattern is linear.

b. From the table, an 18-inch femur corresponds to a height of about

66 inches. In other words, the Roman soldier was about 5' 6".

Checkpoint Help at

For women, femur length and height are related as follows.

Height in inches = 1.95(femur length) + 28.7
c. Use a spreadsheet to make a table for this formula.
d. Use the spreadsheet to graph the data in the table and verify that the points
on the graph lie on a line.

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 7.1 Linear Patterns 303

Recognizing a Linear Pattern

The table relates a man’s shoe size to the length of his foot.
A B
Foot
Length Shoe
1 (inches) Size
2 9.30 6.0
3 9.47 6.5
4 9.64 7.0
5 9.81 7.5
6 9.98 8.0
7 10.15 8.5
8 10.32 9.0
9 10.49 9.5
10 10.66 10.0
To measure your foot, trace it on a piece of paper. Mark the front and back of
11 10.83 10.5
your foot. Then measure the length.
12 11.00 11.0
13 11.17 11.5 a. Does the table represent a linear pattern? Explain.
14 11.34 12.0
b. Use a spreadsheet to graph the data. Is the graph linear?
15 11.51 12.5
16 11.68 13.0 SOLUTION
17 11.85 13.5
a. To determine whether the table represents a linear pattern, find the
18 12.02 14.0
differences between consecutive terms.
19 12.19 14.5
20 12.36 15.0
21 A B U.S. Men’s Shoe Size
Foot 16
Length
L Shoe
1 (inches) Size 14
2 9.30 6.0 12
0.17
Shoe size

3 9.47 6.5
0.17 10
4 9.64 7.0
0.17
5 9.81 7.5 8
0.17
6 9.98 8.0
9 10 15 85 6

Notice that each time the foot length 4

increases by 0.17 (about 1/6) inch, 8 9 10 11 12 13
the shoe size increases by a half size. Foot length (inches)
So, the pattern is linear.

b. The points on the graph do lie on a line. So, the graph is linear.

Checkpoint Help at

Use the table at Math.andYou.com that relates a woman’s shoe size to

the length of her foot.
c. Does the table represent a linear pattern? Explain.
d. Use a spreadsheet to graph the data. Is the graph linear?

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304 Chapter 7 The Mathematics of Patterns & Nature

Using a Linear Pattern to Predict a Future Event

One common use of linear patterns is predicting future events.

Predicting a Future Event

The graph shows
the ages of Ages of U.S. Women at First Marriage
American women 28

at the time of their

26
first marriage from
1960 through 24

Age
2010. Use the
graph to predict 22
the age in 2020.
20

0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
SOLUTION Year
The pattern looks
roughly linear. One
way to estimate the Ages of U.S. Women at First Marriage
age in 2020 is to 28
draw a “best-fitting
line” to approximate 26
the data. Then use
the line to estimate 24
Age

the age in 2020. In 2020, the

22
From the graph, age will be
20 about 27.5.
it appears that the
age of women at
0
their first marriage 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
in 2020 will be Year
about 27.5.

Checkpoint Help at

Study Tip
The procedure described in
Example 3 is called linear
regression. It is a commonly
Use the graph below to predict the marriage rate for women in the United States
in 2020. How do these data relate to the data in Example 3?
Marriage Rate for U.S. Women
unmarried women

100
used procedure in statistics.
Rate per 1000

80
60
40
20
0
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Year

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 7.1 Linear Patterns 305

Describing a Linear Pattern in Nature

The figure shows the annual northward migration of Canada Geese. Describe any
linear patterns that you see in the figure.

April 30
April 20

April 10

March 30

March 20

March 10

March 1 Feb. 20
0
Feb. 10

200 mi

Migration line
Mi

SOLUTION
Through the central United States, the migration appears to be moving north at a
rate of about 150 miles every 10 days.

Feb 10 Feb 20 Mar 1 Mar 10 Mar 20 Mar 30 Apr 10 Apr 20 Apr 30

0 mi 130 mi 270 mi 420 mi 630 mi 760 mi 900 mi 1040 mi 1200 mi

Checkpoint Help at

In this book
book, Serge Dedina The longest known migration of a mammal is that of the gray whale. It
discusses the conservation of travels the 6000 miles between Baja California, Mexico, and the Bering Sea
the gray whale in Baja California, each spring and fall. Traveling at a rate of 4 miles per hour, how long does it
Mexico. take a gray whale to migrate each spring?

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306 Chapter 7 The Mathematics of Patterns & Nature

Recognizing a Proportional Pattern

A pattern with two variables is proportional when one of the variables is a
constant multiple of the other variable. Proportional patterns are also linear.

Recognizing a Proportional Pattern

You hang different weights from a spring. You then measure the distance the
spring stretches.
a. Describe the pattern. Is the distance the spring stretches proportional to the weight?
b. How much does the spring stretch when you hang 6 pounds from it?
0 INCH 1

Throughout human history,

2
3

most discoveries have occurred

4

because humans observed

5

patterns. From the patterns, they

6

then formulated laws of nature.

The law illustrated in Example 5 0 in. 3
0 in. 3 in. 492 in. 6 in.
is called Hooke’s Law, after the 2

English scientist Robert Hooke.

The law states that the distance a SOLUTION Spring Stretching
spring stretches is proportional to a. You can see that the 7
Distance stretched (inches)

the weight hanging on the spring. distance the spring 6

stretches is 3/2 times
5
the weight in pounds.
4
3 3 3
—×0=0 —×1=— 3
2 2 2
2
3 3 9
—×2=3 —×3=— 1
2 2 2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
3
—×4=6 Weight (pounds)
Distance 2
Weight
stretched
(pounds)
(inches) So, the distance the spring stretches is proportional to the weight.
0 0 b. When you hang 6 pounds from the spring, it will stretch (3/2 × 6), or 9 inches.
3
1 —
4 Checkpoint Help at
3
2 —
2 The distance that a spring stretches depends on its elasticity. Data for a
9 different spring are shown in the table.
3 —
4
c. Is this spring more or less elastic than the spring in Example 5? Explain.
4 3
d. How much will this spring stretch when you hang 7 pounds from it?

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 7.1 Linear Patterns 307

Recognizing a Proportional Pattern

Is the following statement true? Explain your reasoning.
As a human grows, its skull height is proportional to its total height.

Adult
8 heads at 9 in. 9 in. 9 in. 7.5 in. 7 in. 6.5 in. 6 in.
15 years
7.5 heads at 9 in.

Adult 15 10 5 3 1
years years years years year
10 years
7 heads at 7.5 in.

5 years
6 heads at 7 in.

3 years
5 heads at 6.5 in.

1 year
4 heads at 6 in.

Most adult humans are between

6.5 and 8 heads tall. Comic
action heros, however, are
often 9 heads tall.
SOLUTION
Human Body Proportions
This is not true of humans.
Total height (inches)

80
A baby’s skull height is Proportional line
about one-fourth of its total 60
of 1-to-8 ratio
height. An adult’s skull 40
height is only about
one-eighth of its total height. 20

In the graph, notice that the 0

0 2 4 6 8 10
total height is not a constant
multiple of the skull height. Skull height (inches)

Checkpoint Help at

Baby reptiles are miniature versions of the adults. So, for reptiles, it is
true that “as a reptile grows, its skull length is proportional to its
total length.” Some horned lizards can grow up to a
length of 8 inches. Use the photo to
estimate the ratio of the lizard’s
skull length to its total length.

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308 Chapter 7 The Mathematics of Patterns & Nature

7.1 Exercises
Freshwater The table shows the pressures at various depths of
Depth Pressure (pounds
freshwater. In Exercises 1– 4, use the table. (See Examples 1 and 2.)
(feet) per square inch)
1. Does the table relating depth and pressure represent a linear
pattern? Explain your reasoning. 0 14.70

10 19.03
2. Use a spreadsheet to graph the data. Is the graph linear?
20 23.36
3. How much does the pressure increase for every foot of depth?
Explain your reasoning. 30 27.69

4. Write a formula that relates the depth in feet to the pressure in 40 32.02
pounds per square inch.
50 36.35
Seawater For seawater, depth and pressure are related as follows.
60 40.68
Pressure in pounds per square inch = 0.445(depth in feet) + 14.7
70 45.01
In Exercises 5–8, use this formula. (See Examples 1 and 2.)
5. Use a spreadsheet to make a table for the formula. Then graph the 80 49.34
data and verify that the points on the graph lie on a line.
90 53.67
nd
6. The recreational diving limit for a scuba diver is 130 feet. Find
the pressure at this depth. 100 58.00

eltic Sea.
7. The wreck of the Lusitania lies about 300 feet beneath the Celtic
Find the pressure at this depth.

tlantic Ocean.
8. The wreck of the Titanic lies about 12,500 feet beneath the Atlantic
Find the pressure at this depth.

The stern of the Titanic, pictured above, was crushed by

water pressure as it sank to the bottom of the ocean.

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