GMAT Practice Question: Becky rented a power tool from a rental shop. The rent for the tool was 12 dollars for the first...
Question
Becky rented a power tool from a rental shop. The rent for the tool was 12 dollars for the first hour and 3 dollars for each additional hour. If Becky paid a total of 27 dollars, excluding sales tax, to rent the tool, for how many hours did she rent it?
- 5
- 6
- 9
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- 12
Topics: word problems, linear equations, translations, fractions
Solution
Step 1
We first define a variable to represent the total number of hours Becky rented the tool.
h = \text{number of hours Becky rented the tool}
Step 2
We translate \textbf{\text{"12 dollars for the first hour"}} and \textbf{\text{"3 dollars for each additional hour"}} into an equation, then set it equal to the total payment of \textbf{\text{"27 dollars"}}.
12 + 3(h - 1) = 27
Step 3
We then solve for the variable by isolating it on one side of the equation.
12 + 3(h - 1) = 27 3(h - 1) = 27 - 12 = 15 h - 1 = \frac{15}{3} = 5 h = 6
Answer
6 hours.
