Questions: A function N=f(y) gives the number of firefighters, N, in a town in year y. What does f(2016)=400 represent?

Transcript text: A function $N=f(y)$ gives the number of firefighters, N , in a town in year y . What does $f(2016)=400$ represent? The statement $f(2016)=400$ tells us that in the year 2016 there were 400 firefighters in the town.

Solution

Solution Steps

The statement $ f(2016) = 400 $ indicates that in the year 2016, there were 400 firefighters in the town. This is a direct interpretation of the function $ f(y) $, where $ y $ is the year and $ f(y) $ is the number of firefighters.

Step 1: Understanding the Function

The function $ N = f(y) $ represents the number of firefighters in a town in year $ y $. The specific statement $ f(2016) = 400 $ indicates the number of firefighters in the year 2016.

Step 2: Analyzing the Output

From the output of the function, we find that $ f(2016) = 400 $. This means that in the year 2016, the town had exactly 400 firefighters.

Step 3: Interpreting the Options

Given the options:

The statement $ f(2016) = 400 $ tells us that in the year 2016 there were 300 firefighters in the town.
The statement $ f(2016) = 400 $ tells us that in the year 2020 there were 400 firefighters in the town.
The statement $ f(2016) = 400 $ tells us that in the year 2020 there were 300 firefighters in the town.
The statement $ f(2016) = 400 $ tells us that in the year 2016 there were 400 firefighters in the town.

Only the fourth option correctly interprets the output of the function.