slope and y intercept help

Question

Sam rented a car for a week, drove 580 miles, and paid $327. Eliza rented a car for a week, drove 305 miles, and paid $217. Both friends mentioned that there was a rental fee for the car and an additional rate per mile that the car was driven. Explain which is the independent and the dependent variable. Then use the values given to create two ordered pairs (x,y) for the line. Use these ordered pairs to find the slope,y intercept, and equation. 

M=

B=

Equation:

Answer 1

In general terms, the rental fee (B) will be the independent variable, and the mileage cost (M) will be the dependent variable.

 

So, the equation will be y = Mx + B, where M = rate per mile, x = number of miles, and B = rental fee

 

In the absence of the rental fee, no calculation can be done. The given data only show the total cost.

 

With the rental fee, it would be possible to determine the rate per mile by (total cost - rental fee) ÷ miles driven.