a cable television company charged $79.90 per month last year for premium channels. this year, they are…

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate the percentage increase

The formula for percentage increase is $\frac{\text{New Value}-\text{Old Value}}{\text{Old Value}}\times100%$. The old - value is $29.90$ and the new value is $35.40$. First, find the difference: $35.40 - 29.90=5.5$. Then, calculate the percentage increase: $\frac{5.5}{29.90}\times 100%\approx\frac{5.5}{30}\times100%\approx 18.33%$. Since we are looking for the closest answer among the options, we can also calculate it precisely: $\frac{35.40 - 29.90}{29.90}\times100%=\frac{5.5}{29.90}\times100%\approx 18.4%$. The closest option to this value among the given ones is that the cable company increased the monthly charge. Let's calculate the percentage increase precisely: [ \begin{align*} \text{Percentage Increase}&=\frac{35.40 - 29.90}{29.90}\times 100%\ &=\frac{5.5}{29.90}\times 100%\ &\approx 18.4% \end{align*} ] The closest option to this value among the given ones is that the cable company increased the monthly charge.

Answer:

A. The cable company increased the monthly charge by 20%. (Note: 20% is the closest among the given options to the calculated 18.4%)