Question

In Exercises 11–17, solve each problem by applying the four steps of problem solving. Use the strategy of solving an algebraic equation for each problem. In preparing for a family trip, your assignment is to make the travel arrangements. You can rent a car for \(\$ 75\) per day with unlimited mileage. If you have budgeted \(\$ 600\) for car rental, how many days can you drive?

Short answer

Answer: 8 days

Step-by-step solution

Define the variables

Let x be the number of days we want to find.

Create an equation

We can set up an equation to describe the relationship between the car rental cost per day, number of days, and our budget. The equation will look like this: \(75x = 600\)

Solve the equation

To find the number of days, we need to solve the equation for x. Start by dividing both sides of the equation by 75: \(x = \frac{600}{75}\)

Calculate the number of days

Now divide 600 by 75: \(x = 8\) The result shows that we can rent the car for 8 days within the budget of $600.