a painter earns $15 an hour. what is the minimum number of hours he must work to earn at least $200? write an inequality to represent this situation and solve. show your work
To find the minimum number of hours the painter must work to earn at least $200, we can set up an inequality.
Let's denote the number of hours the painter needs to work as 'x'. We know that the painter earns $15 per hour, so the total money earned can be represented as 15x.
According to the given information, the painter wants to earn at least $200. We can represent this situation as an inequality:
15x ≥ 200
To solve this inequality, we need to isolate the variable 'x'. Let's divide both sides of the inequality by 15:
(15x) / 15 ≥ (200) / 15
x ≥ 200/15
Now, let's simplify the right side of the inequality:
x ≥ 40/3
To find the minimum number of hours, we need to round up the result of the division. Therefore, the painter must work a minimum of 14 hours to earn at least $200.