Question

Kenya wants to buy a car. Dealer A said she could pay $2000 upfront and $150 per month after. When will she have paid $3500Kenya went to Dealer B who said she could pay just $500 upfront and $200 per month after. When will the total amount paid be the same for both offers

Answer 1

We know that:

DEALER A.

$2,000 upfront and $150 per month after.

DEALER B.

$500 upfront and $200 per month after.

To know the answer, first, we need to represent each offer as an equation.

In the first case, dealer A has a rate of 150 (money per month), and 2000 is the independent term of the linear equation, so we express this like

$y=150x+2000$

Where x is months.

In the second offer, dealer B has a rate of 200, and the independent term is 500. So, its equation is

$y=200x+500$

Now we have both equations, we substitute the second into the first one

$200x+500=150x+2000$

Then, we solve for x

$200x-150x=2000-500\rightarrow50x=1500$

We divide the equation by 50

$\frac{50x}{50}=\frac{1500}{50}\rightarrow x=30$

This means the payment will be equal after 30 months.