Question

Postal Service A charges $3.50 for one-day delivery plus $1.50 for each package. Postal Service B charges $0.50 for one-day delivery plus $2.50 for each package. How many packages would there need to be so that there is no monetary difference between Postal Service A and Postal Service B?

a) 2 packages
b) 3 packages
c) 4 packages
d) 5 packages

Answer 1

To find the number of packages needed so that there is no monetary difference between Postal Service A and Postal Service B, set the total cost of both services equal to each other and solve for the number of packages. In this case, the number of packages needed is 3.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the number of packages needed so that there is no monetary difference between Postal Service A and Postal Service B, we need to set the total cost of both services equal to each other and solve for the number of packages. Postal Service A charges $3.50 for one-day delivery plus $1.50 for each package. Postal Service B charges $0.50 for one-day delivery plus $2.50 for each package.

Let 'x' be the number of packages. The total cost for Postal Service A is $3.50 + $1.50x, and the total cost for Postal Service B is $0.50 + $2.50x. Setting these two equations equal to each other and solving for 'x', we get:

$3.50 + $1.50x = $0.50 + $2.50x

Subtracting $1.50x from both sides and adding $0.50 to both sides, we get:

$3.50 - $0.50 = $2.50x - $1.50x

$3 = $x

x = 3

Therefore, there would need to be 3 packages so that there is no monetary difference between Postal Service A and Postal Service B.