Final answer:
The relationship between the total price and the number of hours worked can be represented by a linear equation. The equation is y = 35x + 55, where y represents the total price and x represents the number of hours worked.
Step-by-step explanation:
The relationship between the total price of the service call and the number of hours worked can be represented by a linear equation. We can use the formula y = mx + b, where y represents the total price, x represents the number of hours worked, m represents the hourly fee, and b represents the base fee.
In this case, the plumber charges a base fee of $55 and $35 per hour. So the equation that expresses the total price is y = 35x + 55.
The independent variable in this situation is the number of hours worked, which is x. The dependent variable is the total price, which is y. The y-intercept of the equation is 55, which represents the base fee. The slope of the equation is 35, which represents the hourly fee. The y-intercept (b) is the point where the line intersects the y-axis, and the slope (m) determines how steep the line is.