The freshman class raised funds for a school dance. It costs $3,000 to rent out the hall plus $15 per student for food and drinks. The freshman class raised $12,000. Write and solve an equation to determine how many students can attend the school dance.

1 answer

Let's assume the number of students attending the school dance is represented by the variable "x". The cost of renting out the hall is a fixed cost of $3,000. Therefore, the cost of food and drinks per student would be $15(x).

To determine the total cost of the dance, we add the cost of renting the hall to the cost of food and drinks per student:

Total cost = $3,000 + $15(x)

Since the freshman class raised $12,000, we can set up the following equation:

$3,000 + $15x = $12,000

To solve for x, we subtract $3,000 from both sides and divide by $15:

$15x = $12,000 - $3,000
$15x = $9,000
x = $9,000 / $15
x = 600

Therefore, 600 students can attend the school dance.