Final answer:
An inequality to represent the total cost of a gift basket shared by four friends, each willing to spend less than $12, is C < $48, with C being the total cost to be less than $48.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves creating an inequality to represent the total cost of a gift basket while keeping the cost below a certain amount per person. In this case, there are four friends including you, and each wants to spend less than $12 on the gift basket. Therefore, we want the total cost to be less than 4 multiplied by $12, because there are four contributors.
Steps to solve the inequality:
- Let C be the total cost of the gift basket.
- Each person is willing to spend less than $12, so the total amount spent by four people should be less than 4 × $12.
- Therefore, the inequality is C < 4 × $12.
- Solve the inequality: C < 4 × $12 translates to C < $48, which means the total cost of the gift basket should be less than $48.
So, the inequality that represents the total cost of the gift basket is C < $48, with C being the cost you want to determine.