Question

Kenya plans to make a down payment plus monthly payments in order to buy a motorcycle. At one dealer she would pay $2,350 down and $200 each month. At another dealer, she would pay $2,750 down and $175 each month. After how many months would the total amount paid be the same for both dealers? What would that amount be?

After
_____months Kenya will have paid $_____
for the bike at either dealer.

Answer 1

After 16 months, Kenya will have paid $5,550

Explanation:

This is a guess and check type of a problem. You guess a number of months, plug it into x, and see if both equations come out with the same answer.

If you plug 16 into the first dealer's equation, you get y= 200(16) + 2350. Solving this equation will mean y equals 5550.

If you plug 16 into the second dealer's equation, you get y= 175(16) + 2750.

Solving this equation will mean y also equals 5550.