The scatter plot to the right shows the fat and calorie content of several snack foods:
The function y = 10x + 190 represents the relationship of the given data. What does the 10 in the function represent in the relationship between grams of fat and calories in the snack food studied?
A) the total number of calories
B) the number of grams of fat
C) the number of calories per gram of fat
D) the baseline calorie count
The correct answer is C) the number of calories per gram of fat.
The function ( y = 10x + 190 ) indicates that for every additional gram of fat (represented by ( x )), the calorie content (represented by ( y )) increases by 10 calories. This means that the coefficient 10 represents the number of calories derived from each gram of fat in the snack foods studied. Therefore, it specifies the relationship between grams of fat and the calories they contribute.