A phone company charges a monthly rate of 10 dollars for the first 50 text messages and charges $0.05 for every text message after the first 50 messages

Write an equation in two variables that represent the monthly cost of text message services
y=0.5x+10

y = .05(x-50) +100

If total number of text messages = x

To write an equation that represents the monthly cost of text message services, we need to consider the following:

The monthly cost consists of two parts: a fixed cost for the first 50 text messages and a variable cost for any additional text messages.

Let's define:
x - the number of text messages sent in a month
y - the monthly cost for text message services

The fixed cost for the first 50 text messages is $10, so this is the starting point in the equation.

For any additional text messages beyond the first 50, there is a charge of $0.05 per text message, hence the variable cost can be represented by 0.05(x-50), as we subtract the initial 50 messages.

Putting it all together, the equation that represents the monthly cost of text message services is:

y = 10 + 0.05(x - 50)

Simplifying further, we get:

y = 10 + 0.05x - 2.5

Or rearranging:

y = 0.05x + 7.5

So the equation in two variables representing the monthly cost of text message services is:

y = 0.05x + 7.5.