Question 1201411
y is the dependent variable in that equation.
x is the independent variable.
the eqution is y = mx + b
that's the equation of a straight line.
if you graph that equation, you will find that the x is the value of the horizontal movement on the graph and the y is the value of the vertical movement on the graph.
m is the slope
b is the y-intercept.
an example:
y = 2x - 10
the slope is 2.
what that says is that the value of y goes up 2 units as the value of x goes up 1 unit.
the y-intercept is -10
the y-intercept is the value of y when the value of x is equal to 0.
here's the graph.
<img src = "http://theo.x10hosting.com/2023/040101.jpg">
don't get hung up on the variable name.
any name could be used.
the equation could have been a = mb + c
a is the dependent variable
b is the independent variable
c is the constant term.
the x is used because most graph have an x and a y axis.
the x axis is the horizontal axis.
he y axis is the vertical axis.
so, for graphing purposes, it's useful to give the dependent variable the name of y and the independent variable the name of x.
in functional notation, the equation would be shown as f(x) = mx + b
you wouldn't necessaily be able to graph it as such using graphing software.
for graphing purposes, you would then say let  y = f(x) and graph the equation of y = mx + b, naturally with some value of m and some value of b.
i don't know if this answer your question.
if so, be happy.
if not, let me know what else might confuse you about it.
in the equation of y = 2x - 10, you would assign the value to x and then solve for y.
that makes x the independent variable and y the dependent variable, because you choose the value of x and the value of y is dependent on the equation.
for example, if x = 5, then y = 2x - 10 becomes y = 10 - 10 which makes y = 0.