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Write the equation to calculate the cost remaining after each payment for a 2021 Honda Civic with the following payment information:

Number of Payments | Cost Remaining
0 | $21,000
12 | $16,800
30 | $10,500
60 | $0

1 Answer

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Final answer:

To find the cost remaining after each payment, use the formula C = 21000 - 350P, where C is the cost remaining and P is the number of payments made.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the cost remaining after each payment for a 2021 Honda Civic, we need to establish a formula that will accurately reflect the depreciation of the car's value according to the number of payments made. It appears from the given information that we are looking at a linear depreciation over 60 payments, going from an initial cost of $21,000 down to $0. We can determine the monthly payment amount and then plug in the number of payments to find the remaining cost.

By taking the initial cost ($21,000) and the final cost ($0) and dividing by the total number of payments (60), we find that each payment (assuming no interest or fees) is $350 per month. The linear equation form is C = a - bP with C as the cost remaining, a as the initial cost, b as the monthly payment amount, and P as the number of payments made.

Inserting the known values, our formula becomes C = 21000 - 350P, where C is the cost remaining and P is the number of payments made.

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