A cab company charges $5 per cab ride, plus an additional $3 per mile driven. How long is a cab ride

A cab company charges $5 per cab ride, plus an additional $3 per mile driven. How long is a cab ride that costs $17?

Let m be the number of miles driven. We setup the cost equation C(m):
C(m) = Cost per mile driven * miles driven + ride cost
C(m) = 3m + 5

The questions asks for m when C(m) is 17:
3m + 5 = 17

To solve this equation for m, we type it in our search engine and we get:
m = 4