A taxicab company charges $\$ 5$ for a trip up to 1 mile, and $\$ 4$ for every extra mile (or portion of a mile). Graph the ordered pairs $( m , c )$, where $m$ represents the miles traveled and $c$ represents the cost.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

For the first mile, the cost is fixed at $\$5$. This means that the graph starts at the point $(1,5)$. For every extra mile, the cost increases by $\$4$. This means that the graph has a slope of $\$4$ for every mile, or $\frac{4}{1}$.

Therefore, we can start at the point $(1,5)$, and use the slope of $\frac{4}{1}$ to find the next point. For example, to find the point that represents a trip of 2 miles, we can add 1 to the $x$-coordinate (since we are traveling an extra mile), and add 4 to the $y$-coordinate (since the cost increases by $\$4$ for every extra mile). This gives us the point $(2,9)$.

Using this method, we can find the following points:

\begin{align*}
(1,5) \
(2,9) \
(3,13) \
(4,17) \
(5,21) \
(6,25) \
\end{align*}

Plotting these on a graph and connecting them with a line gives us choice (A).

A Taxicab Company Charges $5\$ 5$5 For a Trip Up to 1 Mile, And

A Taxicab Company Charges $\$ 5$ For a Trip Up to 1 Mile, And