Final answer:
To afford a $299 smartphone on a $9.20 per hour wage, you must solve the inequality '9.20 x hours ≥ 299'. This dictates the minimum hours needed to earn enough money.
Step-by-step explanation:
The inequality to represent the number of hours you would need to work to afford a smartphone costing $299, at an hourly wage of $9.20 can be expressed as:
9.20 × hours ≥ 299
To solve the inequality for the number of hours (hours), you would need to divide both sides of the inequality by your hourly wage, 9.20, which yields:
hours ≥ 299 / 9.20
After performing the division, you will find the minimum number of hours you need to work to earn enough to purchase the smartphone.