Five bushels of corn can be converted into 14 gallons of ethanol. The amount of ethanol produced varies directly with the number of bushels of corn used. Write an equation to represent this situation. E (x) =

x = a bushel 5x = 14 gallons of ethanol x = 14/5 gallon E (x) = (14/5) x If 5 bushels make 14 gallons of ethanol, each bushel makes 14/5 gallon of ethanol. Therefore, any number of bushels x, will make x times 14/5 gallons of ethanol.