Question

1. the average at&t customers pays $35 per month plus $1.75 for each gigabyte (g) of data used. a customer’s most recent bill totaled $45.50.

part a: write an equation to find the number of gigabytes used by the customer last month.
part b: how many gigabytes did the customer use?

Explanation:

Part A

Step1: Define variables

Let \( g \) be the number of gigabytes used. The monthly cost has a fixed part (\$35) and a variable part (\$1.75 per gigabyte). The total bill is \$45.50. So the equation is fixed cost + (cost per gigabyte × gigabytes) = total bill.
\( 35 + 1.75g = 45.50 \)

Part B

Step1: Start with the equation from Part A

\( 35 + 1.75g = 45.50 \)

Step2: Subtract 35 from both sides

\( 1.75g = 45.50 - 35 \)
\( 1.75g = 10.50 \)

Step3: Divide both sides by 1.75

\( g = \frac{10.50}{1.75} \)
\( g = 6 \)

Answer:

(Part A):
The equation is \( \boldsymbol{35 + 1.75g = 45.50} \) (where \( g \) is the number of gigabytes used).