Lesson 4

In a search engine, enter “taxi fare calculator.” Select a fare calculator for your favourite city. Enter a starting location and a destination and find the total cost of the ride. Now enter another destination that leaves from the same starting location. For example, you may enter the airport as your first destination and the address of a particular hotel as your second destination.

Now determine the distance from your starting location to each of the two destinations. The fare calculator might even provide this information.

1. Record your data in a table like the one shown.

    

   Destination	Distance	Total Cost of Fare

2. Graph these two points as shown in the diagram. You can graph by hand, digitally using a spreadsheet, or by using Grid Paper Template.
   
   
   

3. Which quantity is the independent variable? Which quantity is the dependent variable?

4. What does the slope of this line represent in the context of this scenario?
5. Calculate the slope.
6. From the graph, estimate the y-intercept.
7. What does the y-intercept represent in the context of this scenario?
8. Can you represent this situation with a linear equation of the form y = mx + b? If so, what is the equation?

Save your responses in your course folder.

Share 1

With a partner or in a group, share your responses to Try This 1. In your sharing session, be sure to address the following questions.

1. Should your points on the graph be connected?
2. Pick a distance and estimate the cost of the ride using the graph you created.
3. Using the same distance, use the equation you developed to find the cost of the ride.
4. Are your responses to Try This questions 3 and 4 approximately the same? Explain.

Save your summarized responses in your course folder.