Final answer:
The cost of the services will be the same after 3 hours.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find when the cost of the services will be the same for both companies, we need to set up an equation and solve for the number of hours. Let's represent the number of hours as 'h'.
For Derrick's Dog Sitting, the cost is $5 per hour plus a fee of $12. So the cost equation becomes: 5h + 12.
For Darlene's Dog Sitting, the cost is $3 per hour but with a one-time fee of $18. The cost equation becomes: 3h + 18.
To find when the cost will be the same, we set the two equations equal to each other and solve:
5h + 12 = 3h + 18
2h = 6
h = 3
Therefore, the cost of the services will be the same after 3 hours.