his week, Michael collected $468 for delivering newspapers. He had 40 repeat customers and 18 new ones. As an incentive, he charged the new subscribers $3 less than the repeat customers.

Question

If x represents the amount Michael collects from each repeat customer, which equation models this problem?

What is the fee Michael charges each new subscriber?

Answer 1

Let's represent the fee Michael charges each repeat customer as x.

So, the total amount Michael collects from the repeat customers would be 40x.

Since the new subscribers are charged $3 less, the fee Michael charges each new subscriber would be x - 3.

He had 18 new customers, so the total amount he collected from the new customers would be 18(x - 3).

Therefore, the equation that models this problem would be:
40x + 18(x - 3) = 468

To find out the fee Michael charges each new subscriber, we can rearrange the equation to solve for x:

40x + 18x - 54 = 468
58x - 54 = 468
58x = 522
x = 522 / 58
x = 9

Therefore, Michael charges each repeat customer $9, and each new subscriber would be charged $9 - $3 = $6.