Final answer:
To represent the total tons of trash in a landfill after x days as a function, we use the formula n = ax + b with a = 200 and b = 100, giving us the function n = 200x + 100.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve the mathematical problem completely, we are given that a landfill started with 100 tons of trash and that there are 200 tons being added every day. To represent this situation mathematically, we can use the linear function n = ax + b, where n is the total number of tons of trash in the landfill after x days, a represents the rate at which trash is added to the landfill each day, and b represents the initial amount of trash.
For the given situation:
- The initial amount of trash, which is also the y-intercept of the linear function, is b = 100 tons.
- The rate at which trash is added to the landfill each day, which is the slope of the linear function, is a = 200 tons/day.
So the complete function to represent the total number of tons of trash n in the landfill after x days is n = 200x + 100.