College

Xin is driving on a long road trip. She wrote an equation to represent how many gallons of gas she has left in her tank, [tex]g = 13 - 0.3h[/tex], where [tex]g[/tex] represents the number of gallons and [tex]h[/tex] represents time in hours.

What could the number 13 represent in the equation?

A. The number of gallons of gas in the tank at time [tex]h = 0[/tex].
B. How long it takes Xin to run out of gas when the trip ends.
C. The change in the number of gallons of gas in the tank for every one additional hour.

Answer :

To understand what the number 13 represents in the equation [tex]\( g = 13 - 0.3h \)[/tex], let's break down the components of the equation:

1. Equation: [tex]\( g = 13 - 0.3h \)[/tex]
- [tex]\( g \)[/tex] is the number of gallons of gas left in the tank.
- [tex]\( h \)[/tex] is the time in hours.

2. Understanding the Components:
- The equation can be interpreted as showing how the amount of gas in the tank (gallons, [tex]\( g \)[/tex]) changes over time ([tex]\( h \)[/tex]) as Xin drives.
- [tex]\( 13 \)[/tex] is the value of [tex]\( g \)[/tex] when [tex]\( h = 0 \)[/tex]. This means it's the starting point for the number of gallons of gas in the tank.
- The term [tex]\( -0.3h \)[/tex] indicates that 0.3 gallons of gas is used per hour.

3. Significance of the Number 13:
- Therefore, the number 13 represents the initial amount of gas in the tank at the beginning of the trip, when [tex]\( h = 0 \)[/tex].
- In simpler terms, when Xin starts her trip, she has 13 gallons of gas in the tank.

Hence, the number 13 in the equation signifies the initial number of gallons of gas in the tank before the journey begins.

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