Final answer:
The total amount spent on an iPhone 11 and a cell phone plan can be represented by the linear equation y = 500 + 40x, where y is the total cost and x is the number of months.
Step-by-step explanation:
To represent the total amount spent on the iPhone 11 and the cell phone plan, we can create a linear equation. Since you pay a flat fee of $500 for the iPhone upfront and then $40 each month for the plan, the total cost after a certain number of months can be calculated using these values.
The equation to represent this would be: y = 500 + 40x
Here, y represents the total amount spent, and x represents the number of months. The number 500 is the initial one-time payment for the iPhone 11, which is also the y-intercept of our linear equation. The number 40 is the recurring monthly cost for the plan, which is the slope of the equation. This slope indicates that for every additional month, $40 will be added to the initial cost of $500.