Final answer:
To find the equation for the total cost of renting a scuba tank, we determined the hourly rate to be $5 after the initial 2 hours and an initial fee of $4. The equation for the total cost of renting the tank for x hours is y = 4 + 5x.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question asks for an equation to represent the total amount Jeremy has to pay for renting a scuba tank for x hours. We know from the question that for 2 hours, Jeremy pays $14. When he rents the tank for 5 hours, he pays $29. We can use this information to determine the hourly rental rate and the initial fee. By calculating the difference in cost for the difference in hours, we find that Jeremy pays $15 extra for the additional 3 hours, which means he pays $5 for each additional hour.
Thus, the hourly rate (rate per hour) is $5 per hour after paying for the initial 2 hours at $14. Since he pays $14 for the first 2 hours, the initial fee (base fee) can be considered as $14 - (2 * $5) = $4. So, the cost can be represented as an initial fee of $4 plus $5 for each hour he rents the tank. The equation representing the total cost for x hours is:
y = 4 + 5x
where x is the number of hours the tank is rented, and y is the total cost of renting the tank.