The distance you travel while hiking is a function of how fast you hike and how long you hike at this rate. you usually maintain a speed of three miles per hour while hiking. write a statement that describes how the distance that you travel is determined. then identify the independent and dependent variables of this function. a. the distance traveled is three times the number of hours i have hiked. the independent variable is hours. the dependent variable is distance. b. the distance traveled is three times the number of hours i have hiked. the independent variable is distance. the dependent variable is hours.. c. the hours i have hiked is three times the distance. the independent variable is distance. the dependent variable is hours. d. the hours i have hiked is three times the distance. the independent variable is hours. the dependent variable is distance.