Question

An emergency plumber charges $65 as a call-out fee plus an additional $75 per hour. He arrives at a house at 9:30 and works to repair a water tank. If the total repair bill is $196.25, at what time was the repair completed?

(A) 11:15 AM
(B) 11:30 AM
(C) 12:00 PM
(D) 12:15 PM

Answer 1

Determine the time the plumber finished, subtract the call-out fee from the total bill and divide by the hourly rate to find the hours worked. Convert the decimal hours to minutes and add to the arrival time to find that the plumber completed the job at 11:15 AM (option A) .

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of the question is the calculation of time based on a plumber's repair bill. We know the plumber's call-out fee is $65 and the hourly rate is $75. The total repair bill is $196.25. To determine the time taken for the repair, we first subtract the call-out fee from the total bill:

$196.25 - $65 = $131.25

This result represents the cost of the hours worked. To find out how many hours were billed, divide this amount by the hourly rate:

$131.25 / $75 = 1.75 hours

Since 1.75 hours is equivalent to 1 hour and 45 minutes, we can add this time to the starting time of 9:30 AM to find the end time:

9:30 AM + 1 hour 45 minutes = 11:15 AM

Therefore, the repair was completed at 11:15 AM, which corresponds with answer choice (A).