Question

A car leaves Albany, NY, and travels west toward Buffalo, NY. The equation D 280 59t can be used to represent the distance, D, from Buffalo after t hours. In this equation, the 59 represents the

1. Cars distance from Albany

2. speed of the car

3. distance between Buffalo and Albany

4. numbers of hours driving

Answer 1

2. Speed of the car.

Explanation:

Given equation:

`D=280-59t`

where:

• D = distance from Buffalo.
• t = time in hours.

The car begins its journey at Albany.

Therefore, the car is at Albany when t = 0:

`t=0 \implies D=280-59(0)=280`

Therefore, 280 represents the distance between Buffalo and Albany.

After 1 hour of driving:

`t=1 \implies D=280-59(1)=221`

Therefore, after 1 hour of driving, the car is 59 miles closer to Buffalo and therefore 59 miles from Albany.

After 2 hours of driving:

`t=2 \implies D=280-59(2)=162`

Therefore, after 2 hours of driving, the car is 158 miles closer to Buffalo and therefore 158 miles from Albany.

Therefore, the 59 represents the speed of the car as the car travels 59 miles per hour.