Question

Let y- 2t+ 5 be a linear function representing the distance from home for an ant tminutes after starting out from a location near its home. What does the number 5 represent in this function?

Answer 1

The 5 represents the starting distance from home. In other words, when t = 0, the value of y is y = 5. Replacing t with 0 leads to this y value. This is the y intercept. So at time 0 minutes, the ant is 5 units from home. Replace "units" with whatever units you happen to be using.