it costs 200 to join a fitness club and 30 a month in membership dues. write an expression for the total cost of going to the club for n months

Answer 1

If it cost 30 dollars per month and you go to the club for n months, then you will pay 30n dollars. However, you also have to pay the initial fee of 200 dollars so the total cost T in dollars for n months is

T = 200 + 30n

Answer 2

The total cost can be expressed by adding two parts: the cost to start a membership ($200) and the cost that depends on how many months you go to the club (dues of $30 per month). An expression can be found by thinking about how the total cost would change depending on the number of months and looking for the pattern. I like to use a table for this purpose:

Start + Monthly Dues

200 + 30 x 1 (for 1 month)

200 + 30 x 2 (for 2 months)

200 + 30 x 3 (for 3 months)

..................................................

200 + 30 x n (for n months)