A truck rental company rents a moving truck for one day by charging $ 34 plus $ 0.05 per mile. Write a linear equation that relates the cost C, in dollars, of renting the truck to the number x of miles driven.

C = 0.05*x + 34

Explanation:

There are several ways to approach this problem. However, we will follow a logical and simple procedure.

It is always possible to write any linear equation as:

y = mx + b, where:

m = slope

b = y-intercept (value when x = 0)

The problem statement guarantees us that b=34, because if we do not drive any mile (x=0), then the cost should be equal to $ 34. Also, we know that m=0.05, because every driven mile (increase in x by 1) the cost should increase by $5. Therefore, we can write the linear equation as:

y = 0.05x + 34

Changing the dependent variable y for C (to relate it with the cost) we have that:

C = 0.05x + 34