To determine the mileage at which the costs from Company A and Company B are the same, we can define the equations for each company based on the given information.
Let:
- \( A(x) \) be the cost from Company A.
- \( B(x) \) be the cost from Company B.
- \( x \) be the number of miles driven.
The cost functions are: \[ A(x) = 40 + 1x \] \[ B(x) = 20 + 1.5x \]
Step 1: Set the equations equal to find x
To find the number of miles where the costs are equal, we set \( A(x) = B(x) \):
\[ 40 + 1x = 20 + 1.5x \]
Step 2: Solve for x
We will isolate \( x \) on one side of the equation.
-
Subtract \( 1x \) from both sides: \[ 40 = 20 + 0.5x \]
-
Subtract 20 from both sides: \[ 20 = 0.5x \]
-
Multiply both sides by 2 to solve for \( x \): \[ 40 = x \]
So, \( x = 40 \) miles. This is the number of miles driven at which both companies will charge the same amount.
Step 3: Calculate the cost for each company at \( x = 40 \)
You can plug \( x = 40 \) back into both functions to find the cost:
For Company A: \[ A(40) = 40 + 1 \times 40 = 40 + 40 = 80 \]
For Company B: \[ B(40) = 20 + 1.5 \times 40 = 20 + 60 = 80 \]
Conclusion
At \( x = 40 \) miles, both companies charge $80.
Step 4: Graphing the two functions
- For Company A: The line starts at (0, 40) and has a slope of 1.
- For Company B: The line starts at (0, 20) and has a slope of 1.5.
Both equations can be plotted on a graph with the x-axis representing miles and the y-axis representing cost. The point where these two lines intersect is the point \( (40, 80) \).