VARIATION

What are some

related quantities
in real – life
situations?
Which of the following quantities are related?
Do you agree that the more
time you spend on social
media, the more online
friends you make? Are
“facebook friends” the same
as real friends?
Let us consider the
relationship between the
length of time a car travels at
a constant speed and the
distance it covers.
A car travels at a constant speed of 60
kilometers per hour. How far can it travel in
a. Half an hour?
b.2 hours?
c. 3 hours?
d.4 hours?
Let us organize the answers to the questions
in this table.

Time 1 2 3 4
(hr)
Distance 30 60 120 180 240
(km)
Notice that as the time increases, the
distance increases. As the time
decreases, the distance decreases. In
fact, as time or number of hours is
doubled, the distance traveled is
doubled. As time is halved, the
distance is halved.
The ratio of distance over time is 60.

60 120 180
= = =60
1 2 3
The relationship between time and distance
in this example is expressed by the equation .
The equation is called a direct variation. We
say that the distance varies directly as time.
Since the distance traveled depends on the
length of time the car is traveling at constant
speed, the distance traveled is called the
dependent variable. The length of time the
car travels is called the independent variable.
 DIRECT VARIATION
Let and denote two quantities. varies
directly with , or is directly proportional to if
there is a nonzero number such that:

The number is called the constant of

proportionality or the constant of variation.
Student assistants at a certain state university
are paid Php 30 per hour.

a. How much will a student assistant receive for

2 hours? 3 hours? 4 hours?
b. Find the equation of variation.
c. Graph
The weight of an object on the moon
varies directly as its weight on earth.
An astronaut who weighs 80 kg on
earth weighs kg on the moon. How
much would a 60 kg person weigh on
the moon?
The pressure of water on an object varies
directly with its distance from the
surface. A submarine experiences a
pressure of 26 lbs per square inch at 60 ft
below the surface. How much pressure
will the submarine experience at 208 feet
below the surface?
Steps in Solving a Direct Variation Problem

1. Write the equation of variation:

2. Substitute known values and solve for
3. Replace in the equation in STEP 1 by the
value obtained in STEP .
4. Solve for the desired value.
Find the constant of variation
and the equation of variation
in which varies directly as ,
and when
Find the constant of variation
and the equation of variation
in which varies directly as ,
and and .
If varies directly as , and
when , find the value of
y when .
If varies directly as
and when , find the
value of when .
The distance a spring will stretch varies
directly with the force applied to it.
Suppose a spring stretches by 40 cm
when a 65 kg force is applied to it.

a. Find the equation of variation.

b.Graph
The number of kilograms of water
in a human body varies directly as
the total weight. A person
weighing 63 kg contains 42 kg of
water. How many kilograms of
water are in 90 kg person?
 You’ve seen that many
quantities are related to
each other. However, not
all of them are directly
related.
 Speed and Time
Jeffrey and Joy are siblings who live in the same house
and go to school by the same route.
a. Joy walks to school while Jeffrey runs. Who will
reach the school first? Why?
b. If Joy and Jeffrey ran to school at the same time,
would they reach the school at the same time?
Justify your answer.
c. How does the speed at which one travels relate to
the time it takes to travel a certain distance?
 In the situation presented, as the
speed one travels increases, the
time it takes to reach one’s
destination decreases. Conversely,
as the speed decreases, the time
increases. In this case, we say that
the speed and time are inversely
related.
 Decide whether the two quantities in the situation are
directly or inversely related. Explain.
a. The side length of a square is related to its perimeter.
b. The number of people sharing a pizza is related to the size of the
slice each person gets.
c. The age of a used car is related to the price the owner can get for it.
d. The time a painter paints a wall is related to the area of the wall
painted.
e. The time it takes to read a book is related to the number of pages it
has.
f. The time a candle is used is related to the remaining length of the
candle.
 INVERSE VARIATION
Let and denote two quantities. , or is to , if there is a
nonzero constant such that
.

The number is called the constant of variation.

A car is traveling a distance of 120
kilometers.
a. How long will it take the car to reach its
destination if it travels at a speed of
20kph? 40 kph? 60 kph? 80 kph?

b. Graph.
 A speed boat needs to travel a
distance of 28 kilometers. At what
rate should it travel if it wants to
reach its destination in 28
minutes? In 24 min?
in 30 min?
If varies inversely as
and when , find when .
 If varies inversely as
and when , find when
.
A crew of 12 can build a
hut in 8 days. How long
would it take a crew of 4
to build the same hut?
 The number of days a bag of
bread lasts varies inversely as the
number of people who consume
it. If a bag of bread lasts three
days for six people, how long will
it last for two people?
The number of days a barrel of
water lasts varies inversely as
the number of people who
consume it. If a barrel of water
lasts 2 days for 5 people, how
long will it last for 3 people?
The time required to do a certain
job varies inversely as the
number of people working on
the job. It takes two hours for 6
people to scrub the corridors of a
building. How long would it take
4 people to do the same job?