Question

-Wilson Middle School wants to rent tables for their weeklong art festival. One rental company charges a $20 setup

fee and $12 per table for the week. Another rental company charges a $30 setup fee and $10 per table for the week.
How many tables can the school rent for the charge to be the same for both companies?

Answer 1

Answer: 5 tables

Explanation:

The first rental company will charge $32 for one table.

The second rental company will charge $40 for one table.

So if we make a table, and keep adding $12 to the first company and $10 to the second it will look like this.

First company Second company Table

$32 $40 1

$44 $50 2

$56 $60 3

$68 $70 4

$80 $80 5

Therefore, the school can rent 5 tables for the same price in both companies.

Answer 2

5 tables

Explanation:

Let x be the number of tables the school needs to rent, and c be the total cost of renting the tables.

We can use the following equation to represent the cost of renting from the first company:

c = 20 + 12x

And we can use the following equation to represent the cost of renting from the second company:

c = 30 + 10x

As c is the same constant in both equations, we can say the following:

20 + 12x = 30 + 10x

Now we can solve this equation by simplifying:

20 + 12x = 30 + 10x

20 + 2x = 30

2x = 10

x = 5

Therefore, the school will need to rent 5 tables for the cost to be the same from both renting companies.