Final answer:
The equation for this situation is: total cost = number of boxes × cost per box + tax. To solve the equation, subtract the tax from the total cost, divide by the number of boxes, and calculate the cost per box. Each box of lights costs $30.40.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the equation for this situation, we can use the formula for calculating the total cost of the lights, including tax:
total cost = number of boxes × cost per box + tax
In this case, the total cost is $132.40, the number of boxes is 4, and the tax is $10.80. Let's use the variable x to represent the cost per box.
Therefore, the equation becomes:
132.40 = 4x + 10.80
To solve this equation, we can first subtract 10.80 from both sides:
132.40 - 10.80 = 4x
121.60 = 4x
Then, we divide both sides by 4:
x = 121.60/4
x = 30.40
So each box of lights costs $30.40.