MIGHTY MT. EVEREST The Earth's surface is composed of gigantic plates that are constantly moving. Currently, India
lies on a plate that is slowly drifting northward. India's plate is grinding into the rest of Asia. As
it does so, it pushes up the Himalayan Mountains, which contain the world's highest peak, Mt.
Everest. In 1999, mountain climbers measured Mt. Everest with satellite gear and found it to be
8850 meters high. Geologists estimate that Mt. Everest may be growing by as much as 5 cm per
year.
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NO.
You GET
Il Travis
Your Task: Assuming a constant growth of 5 cm per year, determine how tall Mt. Everest was
in the year 0. (The year 0 is the year that came 2000 years before the year 2000.) Write an
equation for the height of Mt. Everest over time, with x representing the year and y representing
the height of the mountain. What are the units form and b in your equation? How many decimal
places should be in your answer? Explain why.