Question

a cell phone plan charges $20 per month plus $0.10 per text message. you spend $25 in one month. write and solve an equation to find how many texts you sent. explain the meaning of your solution.

Explanation:

Step1: Set up the equation

Let $x$ be the number of text - messages. The monthly cost is the sum of the fixed cost and the cost per text message. The fixed cost is $20$ and the cost per text is $0.10x$. The total cost is $25$. So the equation is $20 + 0.10x=25$.

Step2: Isolate the variable term

Subtract 20 from both sides of the equation:
$20 + 0.10x-20=25 - 20$
$0.10x=5$

Step3: Solve for $x$

Divide both sides of the equation by 0.10:
$x=\frac{5}{0.10}=50$

Answer:

The number of text messages sent is 50. The solution $x = 50$ means that, given a cell - phone plan with a $20$ monthly fee and a $0.10$ charge per text message, when the total monthly bill is $25$, 50 text messages were sent.