Question

Roni recently bought a car for $42,000. Her research shows the car will depreciate by an average of $1,200 per year. If x represents the number of years Roni owns the car, which of the following equations represents the value of the car after x years?

A. y = 1,200x - 42,000
B. y = 42,000 + 1,200x
C. y = 42,000x - 1,200
D. y = 42,000 - 1,200x

Answer 1

The equation that represents the value of the car after x years is y = 42,000 - 1,200x.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct equation to represent the value of the car after x years is y = 42,000 - 1,200x. In this equation, 'y' represents the value of the car and 'x' represents the number of years Roni owns the car. Since the car depreciates by $1,200 per year, we subtract $1,200 for each year, hence the negative sign before 1,200. The initial value of the car is $42,000, so we start with that value.