Simone rented a truck to move to a new apartment last month. The rental company charges a rental fee of $25.00 plus $0.50 per mile.
Which of the following best represents the y-intercept in this situation?
numbers of days of rentals
numbers of gallon of gas used
0.50 fee per mile driven
$25 rental fee
(D)
the y-intercept is the charge for zero miles
In order to find the y-intercept in this situation, we need to understand what the y-intercept represents. The y-intercept is the value of y when x is equal to 0. In this case, the y-intercept represents the cost when the number of miles driven is 0.
Given that the rental company charges a rental fee of $25.00 plus $0.50 per mile, the $25 rental fee is the cost that Simone pays regardless of the number of miles driven. This indicates that the cost does not depend on the number of miles driven.
Therefore, the $25 rental fee is the best representation of the y-intercept in this situation, because it is the constant cost that does not rely on the number of miles driven.