Terry and Ed start a lawn mowing business and purchase the mowers and equipment for $1,300. They charge $15 for each lawn and use $2 worth of gas for each job. How many lawns must Terry and Ed mow before breaking even?
Responses:
10 lawns
50 lawns
100 lawns
1,000 lawns
To determine how many lawns Terry and Ed must mow before breaking even, we need to calculate their total expenses and divide it by the profit they make per lawn.
The cost of purchasing the equipment is $1,300.
The cost of gas for each lawn is $2.
They charge $15 for each lawn mowed.
First, let's find the total expenses:
Total expenses = Cost of equipment + (Cost of gas for each lawn * Number of lawns)
Total expenses = $1,300 + ($2 * Number of lawns)
Next, let's calculate the profit per lawn:
Profit per lawn = Revenue per lawn - Cost of gas per lawn
Profit per lawn = $15 - $2 = $13
Now, let's set up the equation to find the number of lawns needed to break even:
Total expenses = Profit per lawn * Number of lawns
$1,300 + ($2 * Number of lawns) = $13 * Number of lawns
Simplifying the equation, we have:
$1,300 = $13 * Number of lawns - $2 * Number of lawns
$1,300 = $11 * Number of lawns
Divide both sides of the equation by $11:
$1,300/$11 = Number of lawns
118.18 = Number of lawns
Since we can't have a fraction of a lawn, Terry and Ed would need to mow at least 119 lawns before breaking even.
Therefore, the closest option is 100 lawns.