Question

Under her cell phone plan, Shaquana pays a flat cost of $41.50 per month and $3 per gigabyte. She wants to keep her bill at $48.40 per month. Write and solve an equation which can be used to determine xx, the number of gigabytes of data Shaquana can use while staying within her budget.

Answer 1

Shaquana can use up to 2.3 gigabytes of data to keep her monthly bill at $48.40, by setting up the equation 41.50 + 3x = 48.40 and solving for x. On the other hand, bundles located above the budget constraint would be more expensive and may contain additional items that are considered luxury or unnecessary for your needs. These bundles would exceed your budget.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the number of gigabytes Shaquana can use while staying within her budget of $48.40 per month, we can set up the following equation where x represents the number of gigabytes:

41.50 + 3x = 48.40

Subtract the flat cost from both sides to isolate the variable term:

3x = 48.40 - 41.50

Calculate the difference:

3x = 6.90

Divide both sides by the cost per gigabyte to solve for x:

x = 6.90 / 3

Solve for x:

x = 2.3

Therefore, Shaquana can use up to 2.3 gigabytes of data to keep her monthly bill at $48.40.

To understand this further, let's consider an example. Imagine you have a limited budget to buy groceries. You have the option to choose between different bundles of items. The affordable but wasteful bundles would be those that are cheaper but may contain items that you don't really need or use, leading to waste. These bundles are located near the budget constraint because they are affordable, but not necessarily the most efficient or practical choice.

On the other hand, bundles located above the budget constraint would be more expensive and may contain additional items that are considered luxury or unnecessary for your needs. These bundles would exceed your budget.