Happy Paws charges $19.00 plus $1.50 per hour to keep a dog during the day. Woof Watchers charges $14.00 plus $2.75 per hour. Write and solve an equation to find for how many hours the total cost of the services is equal.

Answer 1

Let's represent the number of hours as "x".

For Happy Paws, the equation would be: Total cost = 19 + 1.50x
For Woof Watchers, the equation would be: Total cost = 14 + 2.75x

We need to find the number of hours when the total cost is equal. So, we can set up the equation:

19 + 1.50x = 14 + 2.75x

To solve this equation, we need to isolate the variable "x" on one side.

Subtracting 1.50x from both sides, we get:
19 - 1.50x = 14 + 2.75x - 1.50x

This simplifies to:
19 - 14 = 2.25x

The left side gives us:
5 = 2.25x

Finally, dividing both sides by 2.25, we find:
x = 5/2.25
x ≈ 2.22

Therefore, the total cost of services will be equal for approximately 2.22 hours.