Allison,

The relationship between two variables is a direct relationship if when one increases so does the other or as one decreases so does the other. The radius of a circle and its area are in a direct relationship since if I increase the radius the area increases also and if I decrease the radius the area decreases.

The relationship between two variables is an inverse relationship if when one increases the other decreases or as one decreases the other increases. A unit fraction is a fraction with 1 as the numerator and a positive integer as the denominator. The denominator of a unit fraction and the value of the fraction are in an inverse relationship. The larger the denominator the smaller fraction and the smaller the denominator the smaller the fraction.

Suppose you cut a piece of string into n pieces of equal length L. As n increases does L increase or decrease?

Penny