Bear Valley already had 4 centimeters of snowcover when a snowstorm moved in. The storm is increasing the amount of snowcover by 2 centimeters per hour.

Question

Write an equation that shows the relationship between the number of hours it has been snowing, x, and the total snowcover in centimeters, y.

Answer 1

To model the relationship between the number of hours it has been snowing (x) and the total snowcover in centimeters (y), we can use the following equation:

\[ y = 2x + 4 \]

In this equation:

• \( y \) represents the total snowcover in centimeters.
• \( x \) represents the number of hours it has been snowing.
• The term \( 2x \) accounts for the increase in snowcover at a rate of 2 centimeters per hour.
• The constant \( 4 \) represents the initial snowcover already present before the snowstorm.