Question

Jillian walked 0.5 miles before she started jogging at an average pace of 5 miles per hour. The equation d = 0.5 + 5t

can be used to relate the total distance, d, in miles to the time, t, that Jillian spent jogging. What are the independent
and dependent variables?

Answer 1

The independent variable is time and the dependent variable is distance.

Answer 2

• independent: t
• dependent: d

Explanation:

In an equation of the form ...

variable = expression

we generally consider the variable on the left to be the dependent variable. The variable in the expression is the independent variable.

Here, the equation ...

d = 0.5 + 5t

suggests that the dependent variable is d; the independent variable is t.