Math problem help

Question

Mike subscribed to a new service that streams movies over the Internet the service cost $43.75 a month but Mike’s rate is reduced by $1.25 for each new subscriber that he gets to sign up if there is no limit to the discount how many users must Mike recruit in order for him to stream movies for free

Answer 1

Let x = the number of users Mike must recruit in order to stream movies for free!

Set the equation 43.75 - 1.25x = 0

+ 1.25x = +1.25x

---------------------------------

43.75 = 1.25x

-------- -----

1.25 = 1.25

35 = x

Mike must recruit 35 users to stream movies for free

Answer 2

The service is a little expensive, but if it's unlimited, that's a great deal for Mike! Let's see if we can't knock that down to $0 for Mike with some algebra.

Let's think about this on a level without math for a second. What pieces do we have? There's the base price for the service, the price that Mike will pay, the discount per person, and the number of people he signs up.

Let's jot down numbers for what we know and variables for what we don't:

Base price - $43.75

Mike's price - $0 (the objective)

Discount per person - $1.25

Number of people he signs up - x (we don't know this, yet)

Mike will pay the base price, minus the total discount (which is the discount per person times the number of people he signs up).

We can write that out like so:

Mike's price = base price - (discount per person * number of people he signs up)

Let's substitute in what we wrote above in that equation:

$0 = $43.75 - x * $1.25

Now let's solve for x! We'll have to isolate it by moving everything that isn't x to the other side.

First, subtract $43.75 from both sides:

($0) - $43.75 = ($43.75 - x * 1.25) - $43.75

-$43.75 = -x * $1.25

Now, divide both sides by the $1.25:

(-$43.75) / $1.25 = (-x * $1.25) / $1.25

-35 = -x

Last, multiply both sides by -1 to take that negative off:

(-35) * -1 = (-x) * -1

35 = x

There we have it! Mike has to sign up 35 people. Does it make sense? Let's check our answer:

If Mike signs up 35 people, he'll have made a discount of 35 * $1.25, which we can punch in our calculators and comes out as $43.75. That's the cost of the service, so yes! Makes sense.

Answer 3

$1.25 would be multiplied by the number of subscribers Mike need to recruit to get a free movie.

$1.25n

$43.75 is his monthly service rate which we want to be 0 to stream moves for free that month.

Equation

43.75-1.25n=0

simplify your answer from there.

43.75-1.25n=0

-43.75 =-43.75

————————————

-1.25n=-43.75

÷-1.25= ÷-1.25

n=35 subscribers