Appropriate doses of medicine for both animals and humans are often based on body surface area (BSA). Since weight is much easier to determine than BSA, veterinarians use the weight of an animal to estimate BSA. The following linear equation expresses BSA for canines in terms of weight: a = 16.12w + 375.6 where a is BSA in square inches and w is weight in pounds.

(A) Interpret the slope of the BSA equation.

(B) What is the effect of a one-pound increase in weight?