Harker middle school students have started a service project where they will be planting trees in four abandoned lots to increase carbon dioxide absorption by trees and make the neighborhood look nicer. during research, they found that the type of trees they were planting need 25 ft.² of land. the teacher gave the students the side length in feet of the four abandoned lots and asked students to write an equation that would them determine how many trees they would need to buy for each lot.

1. the independent variable is the variable that is changed. identify the independent variable in the tree service project.

2. the dependent variable is the variable that changes because of the independent variable. identify the dependent variable in the tree service project.

3. each of the abandoned lots is shaped like a square. students will need 25 ft^2 to plant each tree. write an equation that will solve for t, the number of trees that can be planted when you know the side length in feet, s, of the square lots.

4. the side length of the four abandoned lots in which the trees will be planted are listed in the table below. use the equation you write above to find the number of trees that can be planted in each lot, t, for each side length in feet, s.