A line with an arrow at the top is plotted in quadrant 1 of a coordinate plane. The x-axis is labeled Hours, and the y-axis is labeled Amount in Dollars.

Question

Jasper is moving across town. His rental truck has a flat fee of $25 and an hourly charge of $15. The graph illustrates what he will pay. Interpret the graph. What is the rate of change?

(1 point)
Responses

25
25

40
40

−15
negative 15

15

Answer 1

To interpret the graph, we recognize that it represents the total cost \( C \) of renting the truck based on the time \( t \) spent in hours. The rental fee consists of a flat fee of $25 plus an hourly charge of $15 for each hour.

The total cost can be expressed with the formula: \[ C = 25 + 15t \]

The graph starts at the point (0, 25) because there is a flat fee of $25 when no hours have been spent (t = 0). As time increases, the cost increases as well.

The 'rate of change' in this context refers to how much the cost increases for each additional hour rented. Since the hourly charge is $15, the rate of change is:

15

Thus, the answer is:

15