Step 1 :The problem is asking for a linear function that represents the number of credits a student has after t semesters. We know that the student had 34 credits after 2 semesters and 58 credits after 4 semesters. We can use these two points to find the slope of the line, which represents the number of credits the student earns each semester. The y-intercept of the line represents the number of credits the student had before starting college.
Step 2 :Calculate the slope using the formula: \(slope = \frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1}\). Substituting the given points (2, 34) and (4, 58), we get \(slope = \frac{58 - 34}{4 - 2} = 12\).
Step 3 :Calculate the y-intercept using the formula: \(y = mx + c\). Substituting the given point (2, 34) and the calculated slope 12, we get \(34 = 12*2 + c\), which simplifies to \(c = 10\).
Step 4 :The slope of the line, which represents the number of credits the student earns each semester, is 12. The y-intercept of the line, which represents the number of credits the student had before starting college, is 10. Therefore, the equation that represents this situation is \(C(t)=12 t+10\).
Step 5 :Final Answer: \(\boxed{C(t)=12 t+10}\)