Final answer:
To represent 20 + 12x = 240 in the real world, consider a book club with a $20 enrollment fee and books costing $12 each, where the total expenditure is $240. By solving algebraically, it's determined that 18 books were bought.
Step-by-step explanation:
A real-world situation that could be represented by the equation 20 + 12x = 240 is a scenario where you have a fixed cost or base fee plus a variable cost that changes with quantity. Imagine you are part of a book club that requires a $20 enrollment fee and then $12 for each book you purchase. If your total expenditure is $240, you want to find out how many books you bought. Here's the step-by-step breakdown:
- Subtract the fixed cost from the total expenditure: $240 - $20 = $220.
- Divide the remaining amount by the cost per book to find the quantity: $220 ÷ $12 = 18.3.
Thus, you bought 18 books from the book club, assuming a whole number of books is required.