Question

Anthony hired painters to paint his house at a rate of $12 per hour. He had a coupon for $45 off the total cost. After using the coupon, his bill came to $180. How many hours, x, were the painters there?

a. x = 15 hours
b. x = 12 hours
c. x = 9 hours
d. x = 18 hours

Answer 1

Anthony's bill was $180 after a $45 coupon, so the original bill was $225. Solving the equation 12x = 225, we find x = 18.75, which we round down to x = 18 hours as the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve the question about the number of hours painters were at Anthony's house, we set up an equation where x represents the number of hours worked. Since Anthony had a coupon worth $45 and the final bill after the coupon was $180, the original bill before the coupon was used would be $180 + $45 = $225. Thus, we can write the equation as $12 per hour times the number of hours (x) equals $225, which is 12x = 225.

Dividing both sides of the equation by $12 to solve for x, we get x = 225 / 12. This simplifies to x = 18.75. However, since we need a whole number of hours, we round down to x = 18 hours, as painters are unlikely to charge for a partial hour not worked.

Therefore, the correct answer to the question 'How many hours, x, were the painters there?' is d. x = 18 hours.