The amounts that two plumbers charge for their services are described.
The first plumber charges a fixed fee of $40 for house calls and $15 per hour of work. The second plumber charges a fixed fee of $30 for house calls and
$19 per hour of work.
For what number of hours of work do the first plumber and the second plumber charge the same total amount?
Let's represent the total cost for the first plumber as C1 and the total cost for the second plumber as C2. We can write equations based on the given information:
C1 = 40 + 15h
C2 = 30 + 19h
We want to find the number of hours of work, h, where the total cost for both plumbers is the same. This means:
C1 = C2
Substituting the equations we have:
40 + 15h = 30 + 19h
Simplifying and solving for h:
10 = 4h
h = 2.5
Therefore, the first plumber and the second plumber charge the same total amount for 2.5 hours of work.