Final answer:
The equation representing the number of cars sent to New York in terms of the number of months is c = 9(m - 1), considering the first month's production is for an overseas order.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking for an equation to represent the number of cars sent to New York showrooms by a new automobile company in terms of the number of months that pass. The company manufactures 9 cars every month and will first fill an overseas order for 10 cars before sending any cars to New York. Therefore, after fulfilling the initial order, the remaining cars produced each month will be sent to New York.
To construct the requested equation, we will use m to represent the number of months and c for the total number of cars sent to New York. For the first month, 10 cars are for the overseas order, so no cars go to New York. After that, for each additional month, 9 cars will be sent to New York. This relationship is expressed by the equation: c = 9(m - 1), since the first month's production is dedicated to the overseas order and not available for New York showrooms.