Have you ever wondered what happens when more people attend a catered party than planned or if not all the people show up? An inverse variation occurs!

Source: cherry-pie, freeclipartnow.com

Example: A caterer is hired to prepare a dinner for 6 people. He decides to serve pie for dessert. Each person would get 1/6 of a 10-inch pie.

Click on the pie below to divide it into 6 equal slices.

(You can reset the animation by clicking on any piece of the pie.)

One couple forgot to RSVP and they decided to arrive later. They happened to arrive in time for dessert. Click on the pie below to divide it into 8 equal slices.

(You can reset the animation but clicking on any piece of the pie.)

The number of people increased and the size of the slice of pie decreased- inverse variation.

Suppose one couple couldn’t attend the dinner at the last minute. The size of the slice of pie would increase. Click on the pie below to divide it into 4 equal slices.

(You can reset the animation but clicking on any piece of the pie.)

The number of people decreased and the size of the pie increased – inverse variation.

The amount of pie for each person varies inversely as the number of guests. The more people, the less each person gets. The product of the quantities remains constant, k, that is, one quantity increases as the other decreases.