To represent the situation with an expression, we can use the following formula:
\[ \text{Height of the sunflower after } t \text{ weeks} = \text{Initial height} + (\text{Growth per week} \times t) \]
In this scenario, the initial height of the sunflower is 8 inches, and it grows 8 inches per week. Therefore, the expression can be written as:
\[ \text{Height}(t) = 8 + 8t \]
where \( t \) is the number of weeks.
To find the height of the sunflower after 5 weeks, we can substitute \( t = 5 \) into the expression:
\[ \text{Height}(5) = 8 + 8 \times 5 \] \[ \text{Height}(5) = 8 + 40 \] \[ \text{Height}(5) = 48 \text{ inches} \]
So, after 5 weeks, the sunflower would be 48 inches tall.