Question

A driving service, like Uber or Lyft, charges the following, as modeled in the table, per mile driven.

Miles Driven Cost
0 $10
1 10.70
2 11.40
3 12.10
4 12.80
What is the rate of change/cost per mile driven?

What does the first point (0, 10) represent in real life terms?

Using m to represent miles and C(m) to represent the cost, what equation models the function in the table?

Answer 1

The rate of change/cost per mile driven can be calculated by finding the slope of the line that connects the points (1,10.70) and (0,10). The slope is the change in the y-value divided by the change in the x-value, so the slope of the line is (10.70-10)/(1-0) = $0.70/mile.

The point (0, 10) represents the cost of the driving service when 0 miles are driven. In other words, the service costs $10 for no miles driven.

The equation that models the function in the table is C(m) = $10 + $0.70m. The first term represents the cost of the service when no miles are driven and the second term represents the cost per mile driven.