Mike took a taxi from his home to the airport. The taxi driver charged an initial fee of $6 plus $3 per mile. The total fare was $24, not including the tip. How many miles did Mike travel by taxi on this ride?

3m+6=24

3m=18

m=6

So mike traveled 6 miles by taxi.

We know that the taxi driver chargers $3 per mile, so we say M is the mile variable, and for every M there is $3. So 3m+6 (initial fee) is the first part of the formula.

We set 3m+6=24 (24 being the total amount the taxi driver is charging)