High School

Tim's company offers a reimbursement package of [tex]$\$0.45$[/tex] per mile plus [tex]$\$175$[/tex] a year for maintenance. If [tex]$x$[/tex] represents the number of miles, which equation below models [tex]$C$[/tex], the total amount of reimbursement the company offers?

A. [tex]C = 0.45 + 175x[/tex]
B. [tex]C = 0.45x + 175[/tex]
C. [tex]C = 45x + 175[/tex]
D. [tex]C = 0.45 + 175[/tex]

Answer :

To determine the correct equation that models the total amount of reimbursement, let's break down the components of the reimbursement package:

1. Reimbursement per mile: The company offers [tex]$0.45 for every mile driven. This means if Tim drives `x` miles, the reimbursement for this portion will be $[/tex]0.45 times `x`, which is represented as `0.45x`.

2. Annual maintenance reimbursement: The company also provides a fixed amount of $175 each year for maintenance.

Now, we need to combine these two components to create the total reimbursement equation:

- The total reimbursement `C` will be the sum of the reimbursement per mile and the annual maintenance cost.

So, the equation that represents the total reimbursement `C` is:

[tex]\[ C = 0.45x + 175 \][/tex]

Upon looking at the options provided:

A. [tex]\( C = 0.45 + 175x \)[/tex] - This option incorrectly places 175 as a coefficient to `x`.
B. [tex]\( C = 0.45x + 175 \)[/tex] - This option represents the correct equation as we derived.
C. [tex]\( C = 45x + 175 \)[/tex] - This option incorrectly uses 45 instead of 0.45 as the coefficient of `x`.
D. [tex]\( C = 0.45 + 175 \)[/tex] - This option ignores the `x` factor for mileage.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

B. [tex]\( C = 0.45x + 175 \)[/tex]