Luca works as a bagger at a local grocery store. His normal rate is $12 per hour for every hour worked up to 40 hours per week. If he works overtime, he earns $18 for every hour he works between 40 and 55 hours a week. Which function equation represents this scenario? (1 point)

To represent Luca's earnings based on the number of hours he works, we need to create a piecewise function that reflects his normal pay rate and his overtime pay rate.

1. For hours worked up to 40 (inclusive), he earns $12 per hour.
2. For hours worked between 40 and 55 (exclusive), he earns $18 per hour.
3. If he works more than 55 hours, we do not have information about the pay rate for those hours, so we can limit our function to 55 hours.

Given this information, the correct function would be:

\[
f(h) =
\begin{cases}
12h & \text{if } h \leq 40 \\
12 \times 40 + 18(h - 40) & \text{if } 40 < h \leq 55
\end{cases}
\]

However, this exact format isn't presented in your options. Based on the similar formats given, the closest appropriate representation would be:

\[
f(p) =
\begin{cases}
12h & \text{if } h \leq 40 \\
18h & \text{if } 40 < h \leq 55
\end{cases}
\]

But it's important to note that the option mentioning **$18h$ if h>40, h≤55** is incorrect as it implies that he earns $18 for every hour worked if he is merely above 40 hours, which is not accurate.

Given the options you provided, it seems the closest correct choice is:

**f(p)={12h if h≤40}; f(p)={18h if h>40, h≤55}**

This choice correctly represents the start of the calculation, but it is worth noting that the overtime pay calculation should account for only the hours exceeding 40 but capped at 55 hours in a more precise function.