A cell phone company charges a monthly fee plus $0.25 for each text message. The monthly fee is $30.00 and you owe $59.50. How many text messages did you have?

Question

A cell phone company charges a monthly fee plus $0.25 for each text message. The monthly fee is $30.00 and you owe $59.50. How many text messages did you have?

An equation is( blank )=59.5

..

Answer 1

There were 118 text messages that month.

Answer 2

We are looking for just the number of text messages, so we need to first separate the cost of the text messages from the entire bill. (separating = subtraction ) $59.50 (entire bill)

Once the monthly fee is separated, - $30.00 (monthly fee)

we have isolated only the cost of texts; _______

we are done with the $30. = $29.50 (total cost texts)

Now we need to find out how many

texts were purchased with the $29.50 amount.

So, $29.50 represents the cost of just the text calls. Since they were billed at $0.25 each, we need to divide the total cost of all texts ($29.50) by the individual cost of each text ($0.25) to get the actual number of text messages.

Thus, $29.50 / $0.25 = 118 text messages

Answer 3

For word problems, you need to ask yourself, "What do I know? What am I supposed to find out?"

The first sentence sets up your equation. The second sentence tells you the values of the known items. The question asks you to find out how many Text messages, so I would represent that unknown with a T for Texts.

$30 + .25T = $59.50

Monthly Fee + rate times number of Texts = Bill

30 + .25T = 59.50

-30 -30

.25T = 29.50

/.25 /.25

T = 118

which means the person made 118 Text messages in that month.

Once you know how to set up an equation from reading for what you know and what you need to find out, it becomes a lot easier to solve problems like this one.

Good luck!

Sue

Answer 4

30 + 0.25x = 59.50

0.25x = 29.50

x=118