Answer:
the first company would be cheaper because it has a lower total cost.
Explanation:
To determine which company is more cost-effective, you will need to compare the total costs for each company based on the amount of sugar being transported.
If the first company is used, the total cost for transporting x tons of sugar will be 3204 + 75.25x dollars.
If the second company is used, the total cost for transporting x tons of sugar will be 275.50x dollars.
To determine which company is cheaper for a given amount of sugar, you can compare these two equations by setting them equal to each other and solving for x.
For example, if you want to transport 100 tons of sugar, you can set the two equations equal to each other and solve for x:
3204 + 75.25x = 275.50x
Solving for x, we get: x = 3204 / (75.25 - 275.50) = 107.8 tons
This means that if you want to transport 100 tons of sugar, the first company would be cheaper, because it costs less than the second company for any amount of sugar greater than 107.8 tons.
If you want to transport a different amount of sugar, you can repeat this process to determine which company is cheaper.