Question

The amounts that two plumbers charge for their services are described.

The first plumber charges a fixed fee of $40 for house calls and $15 per hour of work. The second plumber charges a fixed fee of $30 for house calls and
$19 per hour of work.
For what number of hours of work do the first plumber and the second plumber charge the same total amount?

Answer 1

Let's represent the total cost for the first plumber as C1 and the total cost for the second plumber as C2. We can write equations based on the given information:

C1 = 40 + 15h
C2 = 30 + 19h

We want to find the number of hours of work, h, where the total cost for both plumbers is the same. This means:

C1 = C2

Substituting the equations we have:

40 + 15h = 30 + 19h

Simplifying and solving for h:

10 = 4h

h = 2.5

Therefore, the first plumber and the second plumber charge the same total amount for 2.5 hours of work.