Cab companies often charge a flat fee for picking someone up and then charge an additional fee per mile driven.
The city of Raleigh, NC charges $1.95 fee and $2.70 per mile for each Cab ride.
What does the slope mean in the context of the problem?
In the context of this problem, the slope represents the rate of change between the distance driven and the total cost of the cab fare. The flat fee is the initial cost at the start of the ride, which would be the y-intercept in a linear equation where y represents the total fare cost and x represents the number of miles driven.
In other words, for each additional mile driven, the total fare will increase by the slope amount, which is $2.70 in this case. Thus, the slope indicates the cost per mile—every mile you add to the trip results in an additional $2.70 added to the fare.
If you were to express this relationship in a linear equation, it might look like this:
Total Fare (y) = (Slope * Number of Miles) + Flat Fee
Where:
- Slope = $2.70/mile
- Flat Fee (y-intercept) = $1.95
So, for each mile (x), you multiply it by $2.70 and then add $1.95 to get the total fare (y).