Mrs. Wilbanks is taking a group of students to see a play. The cost of the bus rental to transport her class is $500 and the cost per ticket to see the play is $20. Create an equation with two variables that models this situation, then find the total cost for the event if 60 students & teachers plan to attend.

Answer 1

To model the situation with an equation, let's define our variables:

• Let \( x \) be the number of students and teachers attending the play.
• Let \( C \) be the total cost of the event.

The total cost for the event consists of the bus rental and the cost of the tickets. The total cost can be represented by the following equation:

\[ C = 500 + 20x \]

Now, if 60 students and teachers plan to attend (i.e., \( x = 60 \)), we can substitute this value into the equation to find the total cost:

\[ C = 500 + 20(60) \]

Calculating the ticket cost:

\[ C = 500 + 1200 \]

Adding the bus rental:

\[ C = 1700 \]

Thus, the total cost for the event if 60 students and teachers plan to attend is $1,700.