The driver of a taxi charges $2 every minute plus a pickup fee of $3. (a) write an expression for the total cost of a taxi ride. (c) how much does an 18-min drive cost?

Hey there, 

To solve this first they want an expression.

An expression is basically a equation without an answer. To sort of create an outline to help you solve the question.

Lets look at what we are given:

2 dollars a minute in the taxi.

Plus a 3 dollar pickup fee

And they are asking for us to first create a expression.

If M = the minutes in the taxi ride our expression can be:

2m + 3

Because 2 dollars per minute times the amount of minutes in the taxi ride (M) plus the 3 dollar ride fee is what we need to find.

Now lets figure out how to solve C.

We already have an expression all we need to do is replace the amount of minutes variable (M) with the new amount of minutes 18!

So our new equation is:

(2 x 18) + 3

For the 2 dollars per minute, times the amount of minutes in the drive was. And finally adding on the drive fee of 3 dollars.

Solving that we get 39 dollars in total for ride.

I do hope this helps!
Brainliest is always appreciated if you feel its deserved!