a. A mouse can travel 8 miles per hour. Write an equation to find the total distance \( d \) a mouse can travel in \( h \) hours.

To find the total distance \( d \) a mouse can travel, multiply its speed by the time it travels. The equation will be: \[ d = 8h \] where \( d \) is the total distance and \( h \) is the number of hours the mouse travels. This simple linear equation indicates that for every hour the mouse scurries along, it covers 8 more miles! Imagine our speedy little friend darting to different destinations—like finding cheese or racing against other critters. Depending on how long it runs (the \( h \) in our equation), you'll be amazed at how far it can go! For instance, if the mouse scampers for 3 hours, just plug in \( h = 3 \) to get \( d = 8 \times 3 = 24 \) miles. That’s a lot of cheese adventures!