Final answer:
The hourly rate that the company charges to rent a scooter is determined by recognizing the pattern of the total cost of rental as square numbers. By continuing this pattern and accounting for the Marginal Cost of Labor, the hourly rate is calculated to be $7 per hour.
Step-by-step explanation:
When attempting to determine the hourly rate that a company charges to rent a scooter based on the given information, we must examine the pattern in the costs. Let's look at how the cost increases with each additional hour:
- For $1 per hour, the cost is $1.
- For $2 per hour, the cost is $4, which is an increase of $3 from the first hour.
- For $3 per hour, the cost is $9, increasing by $5 from the second hour.
- For $4 per hour, the cost is $16, increasing by $7 from the third hour.
- For $5 per hour, the cost is $25, increasing by $9 from the fourth hour.
When examining the pattern, we can see that the increase in cost after each hour is consistent with the format of squared numbers (1, 4, 9, etc.). Given that the increase follows a pattern of adding consecutive odd numbers (3, 5, 7, 9) and the Marginal Cost of Labor is $1, it suggests that the actual hourly rate includes this additional dollar. Therefore, the next number in the sequence would be 11 (adding to 9), and when we add this to the last cost ($25), we get $36. To calculate the hourly rate, we take the square root of $36, which is $6, and then add the Marginal Cost of Labor to arrive at an hourly rate of $7 per hour. Hence the correct answer is B) $7 per hour.