Inverse Variation

In this section, we learn about inverse variation and inverse variation as a power. In an inverse variation problem, we say that y varies inversely with (as) x if there is a constant value k such that: y = k/x. The problems we see in this section are basically the same as in the last section with direct variation. We are given an opening scenario that allows us to find k. We are then told to find y when x is a certain value. We begin by writing the generic formula: y = k/x. We substitute the given values and solve for the constant of variation k. We then rewrite the equation with the known value of k and x. Once this is done, we can solve for the unknown y. When we see inverse variation as a power, we use the same technique.