Final answer:
Megan rented the bike for 5 hours, calculated by subtracting the base price from the total cost and dividing the remainder by the hourly rate.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking how many hours Megan rented the bike for, given the cost of the rental. We can use a linear equation to solve this problem.
The total cost for renting a bike is represented as follows:
Total Cost = Base Price + (Hourly Rate × Number of Hours)
In Megan's case, we have:
$51 = $11 + $8 per hour × Number of Hours
To calculate the number of hours, we first subtract the base price from the total cost:
$51 - $11 = $40
Then we divide the remainder by the hourly rate to find the number of hours:
$40 / $8 = 5 hours
Megan rented the bike for 5 hours.