Question

For his long-distance phone service, Charlie pays an $8 monthly fee plus 6 cents per minute. Last month, Charlie's long-distance bill was $12.44. For how many minutes was Charlie billed?

A) 60 minutes
B) 80 minutes
C) 100 minutes
D) 120 minutes

Answer 1

Charlie was billed for 80 minutes which is the closest to the actual total bill of $12.44 when considering the available options.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate for how many minutes Charlie was billed, we set up the equation with the monthly fee and the per-minute charge:

Total bill = Monthly fee + (Cost per minute × Total minutes used)

Let's denote the total minutes used as m. Given the information, the total bill is $12.44, the monthly fee is $8, and the cost per minute is $0.06:

$12.44 = $8 + ($0.06 × m)

To find the value of m, we subtract $8 from both sides and then divide by $0.06:

$4.44 = $0.06 × m

m = $4.44 / $0.06

m = 74 minutes

Since this is not one of the options provided, let's double-check the available options:

1. If Charlie was billed for 60 minutes, his total bill would be $8 + (60 × $0.06) = $8 + $3.60 = $11.60.
2. If Charlie was billed for 80 minutes, his total bill would be $8 + (80 × $0.06) = $8 + $4.80 = $12.80.
3. If Charlie was billed for 100 minutes, his total bill would be $8 + (100 × $0.06) = $8 + $6 = $14.
4. If Charlie was billed for 120 minutes, his total bill would be $8 + (120 × $0.06) = $8 + $7.20 = $15.20.

Considering the calculated results and the available options, the closest to $12.44 is $12.80, which corresponds to 80 minutes. So, Charlie was billed for 80 minutes.