Question

You have already saved $55. You earn $9 per hour at your job. You are

saving for a bicycle that costs $199. What inequality represents the possible
numbers of hours you need to work to buy the bicycle?

Answer 1

199-55= 144

144 divided by 9 is 16

16 Hours is your answer

Answer 2

$55+$9x≥$199

You must work for at least 16 hours to be able to buy the bicycle.

Explanation:

Let x represent the number of hours you need to work to buy the bicycle.

You already have $55.

⇒$55+ −−−−−≥ −−−−−

You also earn $9 per hour.

Algebraically, this can be written as 9x.

⇒$55+$9x≥ −−−−−

You need to earn at least $199 to buy the bicycle.

⇒$55+$9x≥$199

The ≥ sign is used because the left-hand side of the inequality must be "greater than or equal to" $199.

Let's find out how many hours you need to work to buy the bicycle.

Subtracting $55 from both sides of the inequality:

⇒$55−$55+9x≥$199−$55

⇒$9x≥$144

Dividing both sides by $9:

⇒$9x$9$=$144$9

∴x≥16

Therefore, you need to work at least 16 hours to afford the bicycle.