Final answer:
In the given equation y = 1/2x - 5, x represents the original amount of candy in Faith's candy bowl.
Step-by-step explanation:
The equation given is y = 1/2x - 5.
In this equation, x represents the amount of candy Faith originally had in her candy bowl.
The equation shows that Faith ate half of the candy and then gave 5 pieces to Loundes.
To find the amount of candy Faith originally had, we can solve the equation for x.
First, add 5 to both sides of the equation to isolate the term with x: y + 5 = 1/2x.
Then, multiply both sides of the equation by 2 to cancel out the fraction: 2(y + 5) = x.
Therefore, x represents the original amount of candy in Faith's candy bowl.