If $x$ is the number of hours since launch, what situation does $x = 3$ describe? Is $S(3)$ talking about many hours together or just one specific moment?

The symbol $\approx$ means “approximately equal to.” Does that describe a total at a specific time, a gain per hour, or a comparison between two different times?

If you are given a specific formula or graph for $S(x)$, enter it into Desmos so that $x$ is on the horizontal axis (hours since launch) and $S(x)$ is on the vertical axis (total signatures).

In a new expression line, type S(3) to have Desmos compute the corresponding output. Notice that this gives you one y-value for a single x-value; it represents a total at one specific time, not something that happens every hour or a comparison between two different times. Use that idea to pick the choice that talks about one total number of signatures at a particular time.

The problem tells you that $S(x)$ gives the total number of signatures on the petition, where $x$ is the number of hours since the petition was launched.

So, for any input $x$, $S(x)$ is a single total count of signatures at that time.

In $S(3)$, the input is $x=3$.

Since $x$ measures hours since launch, $S(3)$ refers to the total number of signatures when 3 hours have passed since the petition started.

It is not talking about a change per hour or a comparison between different times; it is one total value at one time.

The symbol $\approx$ means “approximately equal to.”

So $S(3) \approx 2{,}400$ tells you that the total number of signatures at $x=3$ is about 2,400 (not necessarily exactly 2,400).

Putting it together:

• Input $3$ $\Rightarrow$ 3 hours after the petition was launched.
• Output $S(3) \approx 2{,}400$ $\Rightarrow$ the total number of signatures at that time is about 2,400.

The answer choice that says this is: “3 hours after the petition was launched, there are approximately 2,400 signatures.”