Final answer:
In the car rental cost expression 75x + 0.50y, the variable x represents the total number of days the car is rented.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the expression 75x + 0.50y that the car rental company uses to calculate the total cost of renting a car, the variable x represents the total number of days rented.
This can be determined by understanding that the total cost is composed of a daily rate and a mileage rate. Since $75 is multiplied by x, and the cost per day is $75, then x must represent the number of days the car is rented.
In contrast, y represents the total number of miles driven since it is multiplied by the per mile charge of $0.50.