235k views
2 votes
Carly is going to ship some gifts to family members, and she is considering two shipping companies. The first shipping company charges a fee of $19 to ship a medium box, plus an additional $2 per pound. A second shipping company charges $11 for the same size of box, plus an additional $4 per pound. At a certain weight, the two shipping methods will cost the same amount. How much will it cost? What is that weight?

Carly is going to ship some gifts to family members, and she is considering two shipping-example-1

1 Answer

4 votes

Let x represent the weight at which the two shipping methods will cost the same amount.

From the information given, the first shipping company charges a fee of $19 to ship a medium box, plus an additional $2 per pound. This means that if we ship an item weighing x pounds using this company, the cost would be

2x + 19

The second shipping company charges $11 for the same size of box, plus an additional $4 per pound. This means that if we ship an item weighing x pounds using this company, the cost would be

4x + 11

For the two costs to be the same, it means that

2x + 19 = 4x + 11

4x - 2x = 19 - 11

2x = 8

x = 8/2

x = 4

We would find the cost by substituting x = 4 into any of the expressions. We have

cost = 2(4) + 19 = 8 + 19 = 27

The two shipping methods both cost $27 at a weight of 4 pounds

User Gleno
by
4.5k points