Question

A waiter charges $15, plus $20 for every additional hour of work. What is the maximum number of hours that the waiter can be hired for $100?
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4
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6
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5
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8

Answer 1

To find the maximum number of hours the waiter can be hired for $100, we can set up the following equation:

Let \( h \) be the number of hours the waiter works beyond the initial 1 hour. The cost can be expressed as:

\[
\text{Total Cost} = 15 + 20h
\]

We want this total cost to be equal to $100:

\[
15 + 20h = 100
\]

Now, we can solve for \( h \):

1. Subtract 15 from both sides:
\[
20h = 100 - 15
\]
\[
20h = 85
\]

2. Divide both sides by 20:
\[
h = \frac{85}{20}
\]
\[
h = 4.25
\]

Since \( h \) represents the additional hours beyond the first hour, the total number of hours the waiter can be hired is:

\[
\text{Total Hours} = 1 + h = 1 + 4.25 = 5.25
\]

Since we must consider only whole hours for maximum hiring, the maximum number of whole hours is 5 hours.

Therefore, the correct answer is **5**.