Question

"Amy started with $26 in her bank account, spending $2 each day. The incorrectly written equation for the line in slope-intercept form is y = -2x + 13. What is the correct equation, and what mistake might Amy have made?"

Answer 1

The correct equation for Amy's bank account balance, starting with $26 and spending $2 per day, is y = -2x + 26. The mistake in the given equation was using 13 as the y-intercept instead of 26.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student has asked for help in finding the correct equation of a line that represents Amy's bank account balance over time, given that she started with $26 and spends $2 each day. After recognizing the mistake in the provided equation y = -2x + 13, the correct equation should be y = -2x + 26. This equation represents the situation where Amy's initial balance, the y-intercept, is $26 (when x, the number of days, is 0), and the slope is -2, which reflects the daily spending of $2. The mistake Amy made could be misinterpreting the y-intercept, which should represent her starting balance, not half of it.