you take a 10-day trip across the country by car. at the beginning of the trip you zero the odometer and every evening you write down the odometer reading. at the end of the trip, you make a graph of cumulative miles traveled vs. the day the measurement was taken

Question

Which of the following do you think is true?
a. The mileage is the independent variable and the day is the dependent variable.
b. The day is the independent variable and the day is the dependent variable.
c. Neither variable is independent or dependent.

the odometer which measures the number of miles traveled based on the rotation of the car's wheels. This car traveled 91,308 miles.

Explain your reasoning

make it as short as possible

Answer 1

The correct option is b. The day is the independent variable, and the cumulative miles traveled is the dependent variable.

Reasoning: In this context, you change the day (independent variable) and measure the cumulative miles (dependent variable) at each day's end. The mileage relies on the passage of days; thus, it's dependent on how many days have passed.