The electric bill charge for a certain utility company is
$0.016
per kilowatt-hour plus a fixed monthly tax of
$11.37
. The total cost,
y
, depends on the number of kilowatt-hours,
x
, according to the equation
=y≥+0.016x11.37, x0
.
(c) Determine the
y
-intercept. Interpret the meaning of the
y
-intercept in the context of this problem.
The
y
-intercept is
,
. This means that for
kilowatt-hour(s) used, the cost is
$
.
1 answer
The y-intercept is (0, 11.37). This means that if no kilowatt-hours are used (x = 0), the cost of the electric bill is $11.37. In other words, even if no electricity is used, the fixed monthly tax of $11.37 still needs to be paid.