Question

Difficulty: EasyLinear Equations and Graphing

A local gym charges a monthly membership fee of 12.5012.50 dollars plus a one-time registration fee of bb dollars. The total cost, yy, in dollars, for xx months is given by the linear equation y=12.50x+by = 12.50x + b. If a member paid a total of 100100 dollars for 66 months of membership, what is the registration fee, bb, in dollars?

  1. A
    75.0075.00
  2. B
    81.5081.50
  3. 25.0025.00Answer
  4. D
    175.00175.00
  5. E
    37.5037.50

Answer

25.0025.00
The correct answer is found by substituting the total cost of 100100 for yy and the number of months, 66, for xx in the equation y=12.50x+by = 12.50x + b, giving 100=12.50(6)+b100 = 12.50(6) + b. Multiplying 12.5012.50 by 66 yields 7575, and subtracting 7575 from 100100 gives the registration fee b=25b = 25.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify and substitute the given values into the linear equation.
Substitute y=100y = 100 (total cost) and x=6x = 6 (number of months) into y=12.50x+by = 12.50x + b to get 100=12.50(6)+b100 = 12.50(6) + b.
This sets up the equation with one variable, allowing us to solve for the unknown registration fee bb.
2
Calculate the total cost of the monthly fees.
12.50×6=7512.50 \times 6 = 75. The equation becomes 100=75+b100 = 75 + b.
We multiply the monthly fee rate by the number of months to find the portion of the total cost spent on monthly fees.
3
Solve for the registration fee bb.
b=10075=25b = 100 - 75 = 25.
Subtracting the total monthly fees from the total cost isolates bb to find the registration fee.

Key Concept

Solving linear equations in slope-intercept form by substituting known values to find the y-intercept.
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