Tyshawn is ordering a taxi from an online taxi service. He has to pay a flat charge just to order the taxi, and then has to pay per mile, depending on how far he travels. He wrote an equation to represent his total cost, \( y=4.5+2.4 x \), where \( y \) represents the total cost in dollars and cents, and \( x \) represents the number of miles he travels. What could the number 4.5 represent in the equation?

In the equation \( y = 4.5 + 2.4x \), we can analyze the components to understand what the number 4.5 represents. 1. **Understanding the equation**: - \( y \) is the total cost in dollars and cents. - \( x \) is the number of miles traveled. - The term \( 2.4x \) represents the variable cost, which is the cost per mile traveled. Here, \( 2.4 \) is the cost per mile. 2. **Identifying the constant term**: - The number \( 4.5 \) is a constant term in the equation. This means it does not change with the number of miles traveled. 3. **Interpreting the constant**: - Since \( 4.5 \) is added to the total cost, it likely represents a fixed charge that Tyshawn has to pay regardless of how far he travels. This could be a base fare or a flat fee for ordering the taxi. Therefore, the number \( 4.5 \) in the equation represents the flat charge (or base fare) that Tyshawn has to pay to order the taxi.