Question oil-an
Oil and gas production in a certain area dropped from 4 million barrels in 2000 to 1.9 million barrels in 2013. Assuming that the oil and gas production decreased at a constant rate, which of the following linear functions f best models the production, in millions of barrels, t years after the year 2000?
Oil and gas production in a certain area dropped from 4 million barrels in 2000 to
Hard-difficulty · SAT Math · Linear Functions — Rate of change applications. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice C is correct. It is assumed that the oil and gas production decreased at a constant rate. Therefore, the function f that best models the production t years after the year 2000 can be written as a linear function, 
, where m is the rate of change of the oil and gas production and b is the oil and gas production, in millions of barrels, in the year 2000. Since there were 4 million barrels of oil and gas produced in 2000, 
. The rate of change, m, can be calculated as 
, which is equivalent to 
, the rate of change in choice C.
Choices A and B are incorrect because each of these functions has a positive rate of change. Since the oil and gas production decreased over time, the rate of change must be negative. Choice D is incorrect. This model may result from misinterpreting 1.9 million barrels as the amount by which the production decreased.
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