Final answer:
To find the number of students that would have to go on the trip for the two bus companies to be equal in cost, set up an equation and solve for the number of students.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the number of students that would have to go on the trip for the two bus companies to be equal in cost, we need to set up an equation and solve for the number of students. Let's assume that the number of students is 'x'. For Bus A, the cost is $40 rental fee plus $8 per student, so the cost equation would be 40 + 8x. For Bus B, the cost is $12 per student, so the cost equation would be 12x. To find the number of students that makes the costs equal, we'll set the two equations equal to each other:
40 + 8x = 12x
Simplifying the equation, we get:
40 = 4x
Dividing both sides of the equation by 4, we find:
x = 10
Therefore, 10 students would have to go on the trip for the two bus companies to be equal in cost.