Question

Sam wants to earn at least $47 trimming trees. He charges $6 per hour and pays $7 in equipment fees. What are the possible numbers of hours Sam could trim trees? Use t for the number of hours. Write your answer as an inequality solved for t.

Answer 1

Sam must work at least 9 hours trimming trees to earn at least $47, based on his hourly charge of $6 and a one-time equipment fee of $7.

Step-by-step explanation:

Sam wants to earn at least $47 trimming trees. He charges $6 per hour and pays $7 in equipment fees. To determine the possible numbers of hours Sam could work, we need to set up an inequality.

Let t represent the number of hours Sam will work. The total amount Sam earns is then $6 times the number of hours worked (t), minus the $7 equipment fee. Sam wants to earn at least $47, so we have the following inequality:

6t - 7 ≥ 47

To solve for t, we first add 7 to both sides of the inequality:

6t - 7 + 7 ≥ 47 + 7

6t ≥ 54

Now, we divide both sides by 6 to isolate t:

t ≥ 54 / 6

t ≥ 9

So, Sam needs to work at least 9 hours trimming trees to earn at least $47.