Joe is riding a cable car to a lodge. His distance from the lodge is recorded from the start of the ride to the end.
Let be the distance (in meters) from the lodge and let x be the amount of time (in seconds) since the ride started. The equation y=-5x+700 models y as a function of x. As shown in the graph below, this model is accurate only from the start of the ride until the end. (The endpoints of the graph show when the ride starts and ends.)
Since the equation is y = -5x + 700, this means that the cable car is moving at a rate of 5 meters per second towards the lodge. The y-intercept of the graph is 700, which represents the initial distance from the lodge when the ride started. The x-intercept of the graph is at x = 140 seconds, which is when Joe reaches the lodge.
The slope of -5 indicates that Joe is getting closer to the lodge at a constant rate of 5 meters per second. This linear equation accurately models Joe's distance from the lodge during the cable car ride.