How Does Linear models example 1 | Algebra I | Khan Academy Work?

Linear models are like recipes that help you predict how much of one thing changes when another thing changes.

Imagine you have a piggy bank, and every time you get 1 dollar, you add 2 candies to your jar. That’s a linear model, it shows a steady relationship between dollars and candies.

How It Works

Let's say you start with 5 candies in the jar. If you get 1 dollar, you add 2 candies. So after 1 dollar, you have 7 candies. After 2 dollars, you have 9 candies. This pattern keeps going, it’s like a straight line climbing up.

In math terms, this is written as:

Candies = Starting Candies + (Dollars × Candies per Dollar)

So if we write that with numbers:

Candies = 5 + (1 × 2) for 1 dollar, and

Candies = 5 + (3 × 2) for 3 dollars.

You can use this idea to predict how many candies you'll have after any number of dollars, no need to count them one by one!

Take the quiz →

Examples

  1. A student buys 3 pencils for $6, so each pencil costs $2
  2. Drawing a straight line on a graph to show how two things are related
  3. Using a linear model to figure out how many cookies can be baked with a certain amount of sugar

Ask a question

See also

Discussion

Recent activity