Please help me I have to turn this question in in the morning

[shannondeann]

A. In science and nature,we discuss relations (direct, indirect, exponential, and inverse) between various items of interest. Sometimes these relations are described pictorically. Draw and label these possible general relationships on the cartesian coordinate system. (Be sure to label your drawing for full credit.

B. From the various laws, formulas,and theories we have studied to date, identify and describe one of each of the above relationships.

[MrPahoehoe]

Sorry, I just tried to answer this and realised I'm not all that sure about how to explain it and I can't really find a satisfactory answer.

Try this link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/asguru/generalstudies/mat hs/12functionsgraphs/index.shtml

[einsteinsdog]

We dont what laws and formulas you have studied, but it seems to me it is asking for four types of graph and what things they represent. I think two are straight line and two are curves. Two go up and two go down. Sorry I cant draw it here

[jake-the-peg]

Sounds like I'm too late for you sorry.

A direct relationship involves one element increasing proportionately to another so if you double a that doubles b. A graph would look like a straight line going up to the right for example in Ohms law V=IR if you plot Voltage against Current for a fixed resistance you'll get a graph like this.

An indirect relationship works the other way. If you double a quantity another one halves so in the case of Boyles law for gasses if you double the pressure the volume halves - this looks like a diagonal line going down from the top left to the bottom right

now in an exponential relationship we have a curve starting at the bottom left and arcing quickly up to the top right an exponential increase grows in proportion to it's size an example might be a nuclear chain reaction

Inverse is a bit vague - technically that's the same as an indirect but they might mean an inverse square relationship famously something like gravity where the strength is inversly proportional to the square of the distance so as the distance halves the strength falls by a quarter etc. This curve starts high at the top left and falls away rapidly to the bottom right.

Or they might mean an inverse exponential like radioactive half lives in an activity/time graph

[philg]

Re Direct vs Indirect.....

I would have thought (from the words themselves) that a direct relationship is where a change in "a" results in a change in "b" whereas an Indirect one is where a change in "a" causes a change in "b" which causes a change in "c" - there's an indirect relationship between "a" and "c".

To me, these describe HOW two items are related not HOW one changes with respect to the other

But it's been a LONG time since I was in school

Shannon - Now your assignment is done, put us out of our misery!