The correct statement is the initial value represents the 2 gigabytes of data stored on the computer when Jackie bought it, and the rate of change represents the 3.5 gigabytes per year that Jackie is storing
Think about what it means in the context of this problem for time to be equal to zero; it means that <em />the computer <em>already had 2 gigabytes on it the moment Jackie bought it</em>. That means that the 2 GB value at time = 0 must be the 2 GB already on the computer. Right away, you can eliminate three of the answers that don't contain that detail, finding that the correct response is the first one. The second half of that statement also aligns with the information we were given in the problem about the 3.5 GB/yr storage rate.
