Word Problem

Question

A truck can be rented from Company A for $120 a day plus .40 per mile. Company B charges $40 a day plus .60 per mile to rent the same truck. how many miles must be driven in a day to make the rental cost for Company A a better deal than Company B?

Answer 1

We can model these costs with linear equations. Let x = miles driven in a day and let y = cost for one day. Then...

 

Company A:

 

y = 120 + 0.4x

 

Company B:

 

y = 40 + 0.6x

 

 

 

To figure out when the costs are equal (which is the number of miles above which A is a better deal), set the equations equal to each other and solve for x:

 

120 + 0.4x = 40 + 0.6x

80 + 0.4x = 0.6x

80 = 0.2x

400 miles = x