Which statement describes the cost to park as a unit price?

Ari paid 1 quarter to park for 15 minutes at a parking meter.
Brianna paid 30 cents to park for 30 minutes at a parking meter.
Caesar paid 12 dollars to park for 1 day in the airport parking lot.
Deanna paid 70 dollars to park for 7 days in a city parking lot.

1 answer

To determine which statement describes the cost to park as a unit price, we need to find the cost per unit of time (e.g., cost per minute or cost per day) for each scenario.

  1. Ari:

    • Paid: 1 quarter = 25 cents
    • Time: 15 minutes
    • Unit price: \( \frac{25 \text{ cents}}{15 \text{ minutes}} = \frac{25}{15} = \frac{5}{3} \approx 1.67 \) cents per minute
  2. Brianna:

    • Paid: 30 cents
    • Time: 30 minutes
    • Unit price: \( \frac{30 \text{ cents}}{30 \text{ minutes}} = 1 \) cent per minute
  3. Caesar:

    • Paid: 12 dollars
    • Time: 1 day (which we can consider as 24 hours or 1440 minutes)
    • Unit price: \( \frac{12 \text{ dollars}}{1 \text{ day}} = 12 \text{ dollars per day} \)
  4. Deanna:

    • Paid: 70 dollars
    • Time: 7 days
    • Unit price: \( \frac{70 \text{ dollars}}{7 \text{ days}} = 10 \text{ dollars per day} \)

Each of these represents a unit price. However, if we are looking for the best representation of cost per a set time period, Brianna's scenario (1 cent per minute) is straightforward as it is clear and explicit about the cost over a consistent unit of time.

Thus the statement that describes the cost to park most clearly as a unit price is Brianna paid 30 cents to park for 30 minutes at a parking meter.