A book-of-the-month club charges dollars for the first book purchased during the month and an additional dollars for each book after the first. Which equation describes this situation, where is the total cost, in dollars, for books purchased during a month, is the number of books purchased during the month, and ?
Explanation
Answer: C.
Explanation:1. Analyze the cost structure: The cost for the first book is a flat $. For any additional books beyond the first, the cost is $ per book.
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Consider the number of additional books: If is the total number of books purchased: If , the cost is $. There are additional books. If , the number of books after the first is .
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Formulate the cost for the additional books: The cost for these additional books is dollars.
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Formulate the total cost y: The total cost is the sum of the cost for the first book and the cost for the additional books. Total cost This can also be written as .
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Check the equation for different values of x (and ): If (one book): . This is correct, as the first book costs $. If (two books): The first book costs $, the second (additional) book costs $. Total = $11 = . Using the formula: . This is correct. If (three books): Cost = $11 + 11 = \35y = 11(3-1) + 13 = 11(2) + 13 = 22 + 13 = 35$. This is correct.
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Compare with the given options: Our derived equation is . This matches option [C].
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Conclusion: The equation that describes the situation is .