Linear Function
Definition:
A linear function is a polynomial of degree one. The graph of a linear function is a straight line.
Formula:
General Form: Ax + By + C = 0
Slope-Intercept Form: y = mx + b
Point-Slope Form: (y - y1) = m(x - x1)
Two-Point Form: (y - y1) = [(y2 - y1)/(x2 - x1)](x - x1)
Real-World Example:
So I was watching CSI last night and when Grisom got to the crime scene, he had the guy from the morgue take a reading of the recently deceased liver temperature. He then said that a person's liver temperature falls at a rate of 1.5 degrees per hour after death. This would give a linear functin. I was thinking that Newton's Law of Cooling might give a better estimation of time of death. After a little bit of internet research, I found a bunch of television crime dramas all use the 1.5 degree/hr rule. The accuracy of this thumb rule is questionable. The rate of temperature deline (Algor Mortis) can be effected by body size, clothing, air temperature and humidity. One reference said that Newton's Law of Cooling wouldn't work because, "Newton's law applies to small inorganic bodies and does not accurately describe cooling of the human body which has a large mass, irregular shape, and is composed of tissues of different physical properties." (Source: University of Dundee School of Forensic Medicine ).
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