Colin charges a flat fee for babysitting plus an hourly fee. His total cost is represented on the graph. How can you represent this situation algebraically?

Question

(0,8)
(3,20)

y=_x+_

Answer 1

To represent this situation algebraically, we can use the formula:

y = mx + b

Where:
- y represents the total cost of babysitting
- x represents the number of hours of babysitting
- m represents the hourly fee
- b represents the flat fee

Using the points (0,8) and (3,20), we can create two equations:

8 = 0*m + b (at 0 hours, the total cost is the flat fee)
20 = 3*m + b (at 3 hours, the total cost is the sum of the flat fee and 3 times the hourly fee)

By solving these two equations simultaneously, we can find the values of m and b.