Civil engineers calculate the slope of roadbed as the ratio of the distance it rises or falls to the distance it runs horizontally. They call this ratio the grade of the roadbed, usually written as a percentage. Along the coast, commercial railroad grades are usually less than 2%. In the moun-tains, they may go as high as 4%. Highway grades are usually less than 5%. The steepest part of the Mt. Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire has an exceptional 37.1% grade. Along this part of the track, the seats in the front of the car are 14 ft above those in the rear. About how far apart are the front and rear rows of seats?

PREALGEBRA
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ISBN:9781938168994
Author:OpenStax
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Chapter11: Graphs
Section11.4: Understand Slope Of A Line
Problem 267E: In the following exercises, sole these slope applications. Slope of a roof A fairly easy way to...
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Civil engineers calculate the slope of roadbed as the ratio of the distance it rises or falls to the distance it runs horizontally. They call this ratio the grade of the roadbed, usually written as a percentage. Along the coast, commercial railroad grades are usually less than 2%. In the moun-tains, they may go as high as 4%. Highway grades are usually less than 5%. The steepest part of the Mt. Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire has an exceptional 37.1% grade. Along this part of the track, the seats in the front of the car are 14 ft above those in the rear. About how far apart are the front and rear rows of seats?

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