x + y = 75 The equation above relates the number of minutes, x, Maria spends running each day and...

1. TRANSLATE the equation components

• Given information:
  • \(\mathrm{x}\) = minutes spent running each day
  • \(\mathrm{y}\) = minutes spent biking each day
  • Equation: \(\mathrm{x + y = 75}\)

2. INFER what the equation means

• Since \(\mathrm{x}\) represents running time and \(\mathrm{y}\) represents biking time, \(\mathrm{x + y}\) represents the total time for both activities
• The equation tells us this total equals 75 minutes

3. TRANSLATE back to answer the question

• The question asks what 75 represents
• Since \(\mathrm{x + y = 75}\), and \(\mathrm{x + y}\) is the total time, 75 must represent the total minutes spent running and biking each day

Answer: C. The total number of minutes spent running and biking each day

Why Students Usually Falter on This Problem

Most Common Error Path:

Weak TRANSLATE skill: Students focus on the individual variables rather than understanding what the entire equation represents.

They might think "\(\mathrm{x}\) is running time, so maybe 75 is running time" or "\(\mathrm{y}\) is biking time, so maybe 75 is biking time," without recognizing that 75 is what \(\mathrm{x + y}\) equals, not what either variable individually equals.

This may lead them to select Choice A (running minutes) or Choice B (biking minutes)

The Bottom Line:

This problem tests whether students can interpret the meaning of an equation in context. The key insight is recognizing that when two quantities are added together in an equation, the result represents their combined total.