@critter Linear means that the rate is constant. Before burning, the candle is at 10 inches. After 5 minutes the candle is at 8 inches. After 10 minutes, the candle is at 6 inches. [For every 5 minutes, the candle decreases by 2 inches]. That would be a linear relationship, because your graph would be something like height = 10 – 2/5(time)
Yes the example candle burns way too fast haha, just an example to illustrate the point
[Not to confuse anyone, but I don’t think it would actually be a linear relationship. If it was a pillar candle, the first time it burns it will lose some height, but after that its feeding off of the already melted wax, thus not shortening very much at all. Which would be some kind of quadratic relationship. If it was a long skinny candle, it might be linear. Regardless, it’s going to be a negative relationship. For every minute the candle burns, it will get shorter. Whether or not “shorter” is constant depends on the linearity of it.]