The equation above relates the number of minutes, , Jacob spent doing homework and the number of minutes, , he spent practicing music on Tuesday. In the equation, what does the number represent?

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SAT Linear Equations in Two Variables Question 61 | Free SAT Prep | Aniko

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Question 61·Easy·Linear Equations in Two Variables

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h + m = 90

The equation above relates the number of minutes, $h$ , Jacob spent doing homework and the number of minutes, $m$ , he spent practicing music on Tuesday. In the equation, what does the number $90$ represent?

For questions asking what a number or variable in an equation represents, first restate what each variable stands for in words. Then translate the entire left side of the equation into words (for example, $h + m$ becomes "homework time plus music time") and match that phrase to the number on the right side. Finally, scan the answer choices and eliminate any that describe only one variable or use the wrong operation (like difference instead of sum), choosing the one that matches the full verbal meaning of the equation.

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Focus on the whole left side

Look at the expression $h + m$ . What two quantities are being added together, and what do they each represent?

Think about what an equals sign means

If $h + m$ is on the left side and $90$ is on the right side, what does that say about how $90$ compares to the combined value of $h$ and $m$ ?

Compare with the choices

Does $90$ describe just one activity, a comparison between activities, or something involving both activities together?

Step-by-step Explanation

Identify what each variable represents

The problem states that:

$h$ is the number of minutes Jacob spent doing homework on Tuesday.
$m$ is the number of minutes Jacob spent practicing music on Tuesday.

So, each variable stands for a time in minutes for one activity.

Translate the expression $h + m$ into words

The left side of the equation is $h + m$ .

The $+$ sign means we are adding the two times.
So $h + m$ means "the number of minutes of homework plus the number of minutes of music practice"—in other words, the combined time for both activities.

Interpret what the 90 must represent

The equation says $h + m = 90$ .

This means the sum of the minutes spent on homework and the minutes spent on music equals $90$ minutes.
So $90$ cannot be just homework time, just music time, or a difference between them—it must be the total number of minutes Jacob spent on homework and music on Tuesday, which matches answer choice C.

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