Final answer:
To represent the situation where Mr. Molinari's package costs the same to mail using either AAA Packages Plus or United Packages, the equation is set up as 5 + 0.25x = 2 + 0.35x, where x is the weight of the package in ounces.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asked to write an equation representing the situation where the cost to mail a package is the same with both AAA Packages Plus and United Packages.
The costs for the two services are given as follows: AAA Packages Plus charges a flat fee of $5 plus $0.25 per ounce, whereas United Packages charges a flat fee of $2 plus $0.35 per ounce.
Let x be the weight of the package in ounces.
The cost for AAA Packages Plus is $5 + $0.25x, and for United Packages, it is $2 + $0.35x.
Since the costs are the same, we can set up the following equation:
5 + 0.25x = 2 + 0.35x
This equation can be used to determine the weight of the package that would cost the same to ship with either service.