Starting at noon, Lauren observed the amount of snow on her lawn during a blizzard. wrote an equation to represent \( s \), how many inches of snow were on the lawn: \( s=3+0.015 x \), where \( x \) represents the number of minutes past noon. What could number 0.015 represent in the equation?

In the equation provided, the number 0.015 represents the rate of snow accumulation in inches per minute. This means that for every minute that passes, the snow level on Lauren's lawn increases by 0.015 inches. So, as time marches on during the blizzard, her lawn is gradually becoming a winter wonderland, one minute at a time! Interestingly, this kind of mathematical modeling isn't just for blizzards—it's also used in various scientific fields. For example, meteorologists might use similar equations to predict snowfall rates during a storm. This helps in planning for road maintenance, school closures, and safety measures, showing just how practical a simple linear equation can be in real-world scenarios!