Your family decides to take a long road trip for the summer. You will be riding in the

Question

car while it moves at a fairly constant rate for eight hours to reach your destination.
Record your answers to the questions about this road trip below. Write an equation using the variables 𝑥𝑥 and 𝑦𝑦 that relates the distance to the time.
Label the variables to show what they stand for in the equation. Be careful of which
variable you use for the independent and dependent quantities.
6th grade words

Answer 1

For your road trip, we can create an equation that shows the relationship between distance and time.

Let's use the following variables:

• \( x \): the amount of time spent traveling (in hours)
• \( y \): the distance traveled (in miles)

If you travel at a constant speed, we can write the equation in the form of \( y = mx \), where \( m \) represents the speed.

For example, if you are driving at a speed of 60 miles per hour, the equation would be:

\[ y = 60x \]

Explanation:

• Independent Variable (x): The time \( x \) is independent because you can choose how long to travel (up to 8 hours).
• Dependent Variable (y): The distance \( y \) is dependent because it changes based on how long you travel.

Example:

If you drive for 8 hours at 60 miles per hour, the distance can be calculated as: \[ y = 60 \times 8 = 480 \text{ miles} \]

So, for this road trip, you will cover 480 miles in 8 hours if you maintain a speed of 60 miles per hour.