High School

The following exercise illustrates applications of power functions:

A man's weight [tex]w[/tex] in pounds is given by [tex]w = c d^{-2}[/tex], where [tex]d[/tex] is the distance in miles from the man to the center of the Earth, and [tex]c[/tex] is a constant. Let [tex]R[/tex] denote the radius of the Earth, and suppose a man's weight at the surface of the Earth is 218 pounds.

(a) Find the constant [tex]c[/tex] in terms of [tex]R[/tex].

Answer :

The constant c in terms of R is [tex]\( c = \frac{218}{R^2} \)[/tex].

The formula given for the weight of a man is w = cd-2 where w is the weight in pounds, d is the distance from the center of the Earth, and c is a constant. We are also told that the radius of the Earth is denoted by R and the man's weight at the surface of the Earth is 218 pounds.

The distance d from the center of the Earth to the surface is equal to the Earth's radius R. Therefore, using the given weight of 218 pounds at the Earth's surface, we can substitute d with R to solve for c.

To find the constant c, we use the formula as follows: [tex]\( c = \frac{218}{R^2} \)[/tex] Solving for c, we get [tex]\( c = \frac{218}{R^2} \)[/tex] . This is the constant c in terms of R, the radius of the Earth.

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