To set up the inequality representing Maria's budget for renting the hall, we start with the following components:
- The base fee for renting the hall is $200.
- The hall charges an additional $25 per hour for the number of hours \( h \).
We need to ensure that the total cost does not exceed Maria's budget of $500. Therefore, we can represent the total cost with the inequality:
\[ 200 + 25h \leq 500 \]
This inequality states that the base fee plus the hourly charges must be less than or equal to $500.
Part 2: Solve the inequality to find the maximum number of hours \( h \) Maria can afford.
- Subtract 200 from both sides of the inequality:
\[ 25h \leq 500 - 200 \]
\[ 25h \leq 300 \]
- Divide both sides by 25:
\[ h \leq \frac{300}{25} \]
\[ h \leq 12 \]
So, the maximum number of hours Maria can afford to rent the hall is \( \boxed{12} \).