Question

Jodie uses her college printer to print pages at the rate of $0.06 per page. She decides to rent a printer for $80 a year. The cost of printing using the rented printer is $0.02 per page.

Part A: Write an inequality that can be used to calculate the number of pages that Jodie should print in a year so that the amount she pays for the rented printer is less than the college printer. Define the variable used. (5 points)

Part B: How many pages should Jodie print in a year to justify renting the printer? Show your work.

Answer 1

Variable: x = number of pages printed

Jodie uses her college printer to print pages at the rate of $0.06 per page.

=> cost of college printer = 0.06x

She decides to rent a printer for $80 a year. The cost of printing using the rented printer is $0.02 per page.

cost of rented printer = 80 + 0.02x

Part A: Write an inequality that can be used to calculate the number of pages that Jodie should print in a year so that the amount she pays for the rented printer is less than the college printer.

cost of rented printer < cost of college printer

=> 80 + 0.02x < 0.06x <-------- inequality

Part B: How many pages should Jodie print in a year to justify renting the printer? Show your work.

=> 80 < 0.06x - 0.02x

=> 80 < 0.04x

=> 0.04 x > 80

=> x > 80 / 0.04

=> x > 2000

Answer: Jody should print at least 2000 pages to justify the rent of the printer.