Question

The Straw Bridge contest will cost the club $5.50 per competitor plus $34.60 in extra expenses. The Card Tower contest will cost $4.25 per competitor plus $64.60 in extra expenses. To help decide which contest to host, club members want to determine how many competitors they would need for the costs of the two contests to be the same.

1. Write an equation that sets the costs of the two contests equal.
2. Interpret the meaning of the value of x in the context of the problem.

Answer 1

1. 5.50x+34.60=4.25x+64.60
2. X is the number of competitors

34.60 and 64.60 represent the set costs or the y intercepts. 5.50 and 4.25 are the cost for each competitor, making that the slope (the amount the price will increase for each additional competitor). Therefore, x represents the number of competitors.