The cost, y, of taking a rideshare per hour, x, is shown in the table.

time (hours) 8 9 10 11 12
cost ($)
22.24 25.02 27.80 30.58 33.36
What type of function could be used to model the cost, y, of a rideshare as a function of time, x?

(1 point)
Responses

exponential decay function
exponential decay function

quadratic function
quadratic function

exponential growth function
exponential growth function

linear function

1 answer

To determine the type of function that could model the cost of a rideshare as a function of time, we can analyze the values given in the table.

The costs provided are as follows:

  • At 8 hours: $22.24
  • At 9 hours: $25.02
  • At 10 hours: $27.80
  • At 11 hours: $30.58
  • At 12 hours: $33.36

Looking at the difference between consecutive costs:

  • From 8 to 9 hours: $25.02 - $22.24 = $2.78
  • From 9 to 10 hours: $27.80 - $25.02 = $2.78
  • From 10 to 11 hours: $30.58 - $27.80 = $2.78
  • From 11 to 12 hours: $33.36 - $30.58 = $2.78

The difference in cost is constant at $2.78 for each additional hour of rideshare. This indicates that the cost increases linearly with time.

Since the cost is increasing at a constant rate, the appropriate type of function to model the relationship between time, \( x \), and cost, \( y \), is a linear function.

Therefore, the answer is:

linear function