Solving a word problem using a two-step linear inequality
Deon wants to earn at least $43 trimming trees. He charges $8 per hour and pays $5 in equipment fees. What are the possible numbers of hours Deon could trim trees?
Use t for the number of hours.
Write your answer as an inequality solved for t.
Deon earns $8 per hour and has to pay $5 in equipment fees for every hour of work. Therefore, his earnings per hour can be represented as $8 - $5 = $3.
Let t be the number of hours Deon works.
We know that Deon wants to earn at least $43, so we can write the inequality:
$3t ≥ $43
To solve for t, we can divide both sides of the inequality by 3:
t ≥ $43/$3
Simplifying the right side of the equation:
t ≥ 14.33
Therefore, the possible number of hours Deon could trim trees is t ≥ 14.33 (rounded to the nearest whole number).