Question

Use the following information. You are in charge of the music for a school dance. The school's budget allows only \(\$ 300\) for music, which is enough to hire a disc jockey for 4 hours. You would rather hire a live band, but the band charges \(\$ 135\) per hour. Your school does not allow students to be charged an admission fee. To raise the money for a live band, you obtain permission for a voluntary contribution of \(\$ 1.25\) per person. How many students must contribute \(\$ 1.25\) to cover the cost of a live band?

Short answer

The total number of students that must contribute $1.25 can be found by dividing the deficit by the contribution per student. Be sure to round up to the next whole number since we cannot have a portion of a contributor.

Step-by-step solution

Determine the total cost of the live band

Since the band charges \(\$ 135\) per hour and we need them for 4 hours, we multiply the hourly rate by the number of hours. \nCalculate: \[Total Band Cost = Band Rate x Number of hours = \$ 135 * 4 \]

Determine the deficit

The deficit is the difference between the initial budget and the total cost of the band. This represents how much additional money needs to be raised. \nCalculate: \[Deficit = Total Band Cost - Budget = (Result of Step 1) - \$ 300 \]

Determine the number of contributors

Consequently, find the number of contributions. Divide the deficit by the amount of contribution per person which is \(\$1.25\). \nCalculate: \[Number of Contributors = Deficit / Contribution per person = (Result of Step 2) / \$ 1.25 \]