Each school year the 7th graders who study life science participate in a special field trip to the zoo in 2010 the school paid 1260$ for 84 students to enter the zoo in 2011 the school paid 1050$ for 70 students to enter the zoo in 2012 the school paid 1395 for 93 students to enter the zoo identify the constant of proportinality and explain what it means in the context of the situation

The constant of proportionality relates the independent variable to the dependent variable, such that the dependent variable is a constant multiple of the independent variable. In this problem, the independent variable is the number of students (let's denote this as x), and the dependent variable is the cost (let's denote this as y). The equation is:

y = kx, where k is the constant of proportionality

$1260 = k (84 students)

k = $1260/84 students = $15/student

$1050 = k (70 students)

k = $1050/70 students = $15/student

$1395 = k (93 students)

k = $1395/93 students = $15/student

Thus, the constant of proportionality is 15. This represents the cost of ticket per student.