Suppose your cell phone company offers two plans. The pay-per-call plan charges 14 dollars per month plus 6 cents per minute. The unlimited-calling plan charges a flat rate of 22 dollars per month. How many minutes per month must you use for the unlimited-calling plan to become cheaper?
plan 1: cost = 14 + .06n , where n is the number of minutes
plan 2: cost = 22
solve:
14 + .06n= 22
To determine how many minutes per month you must use for the unlimited-calling plan to become cheaper, we need to compare the costs of both plans.
Let's start with the pay-per-call plan. This plan charges $14 per month plus 6 cents per minute.
For the unlimited-calling plan, the cost is a flat rate of $22 per month, regardless of the number of minutes used.
To find the break-even point, we need to set up an equation where the total cost for each plan is equal. Let's assume the number of minutes used is represented by "m".
For the pay-per-call plan:
Cost = $14 (monthly charge) + $0.06 (cost per minute) × m (number of minutes)
For the unlimited-calling plan:
Cost = $22 (monthly charge)
We want to find the point where both costs are equal, so we set up the equation:
$14 + $0.06m = $22
To solve for m, we rearrange the equation:
$0.06m = $22 - $14
$0.06m = $8
Dividing both sides by $0.06 gives us:
m = $8 / $0.06
m ≈ 133.33
Therefore, you would need to use approximately 133.33 minutes per month for the unlimited-calling plan to become cheaper than the pay-per-call plan.