Question

To host school groups on field trips, a museum charges a flat fee of $250 plus $8 for each student who attends. If a school can spend at most $585 for its field trip to this museum, what is the maximum number of students the school can afford to send?

Answer 1

Let's set up an equation, where x is the number of students:
250 + 8x ≤ 585
8x ≤ 335
x ≤ 41.875
We can't have a fraction of a student, so we have to round down
The answer is 41 students.

Answer 2

First of all, you have to define the value which cannot be changed, in this case it is $250, becuase it is a fixed fee.Then subtract 250 the fee from the amout of money that school can spend = 335
Then divide remaining cash by 8 the price per student : 335:8
and you will get 41.875
As you can see, you have to round the number down to 41, otherwise we would go over the school budget.
Therefore, the number of students is 41.