To represent the situation with an inequality, we can define the total cost of renting the hall. The total cost \( C \) is composed of a base fee of $200 plus an hourly rate of $25 times the number of hours \( h \) that Maria rents the hall.
This can be written as:
\[ C = 200 + 25h \]
Since Maria wants to stay within her budget of $500, we can set up the inequality:
\[ 200 + 25h \leq 500 \]
This inequality represents the maximum amount Maria is willing to spend on the rental.
Question 1 Part 1:
The two-step inequality that represents this situation is:
\[ 200 + 25h \leq 500 \]
Next, let's solve this inequality.
Step 1: Subtract 200 from both sides
\[ 25h \leq 500 - 200 \]
\[ 25h \leq 300 \]
Step 2: Divide both sides by 25
\[ h \leq \frac{300}{25} \]
\[ h \leq 12 \]
Thus, the maximum number of hours Maria can afford to rent the hall without exceeding her budget is 12 hours.