The situation described is such that Matteus needs to pay for his gold pass and due to the high cost, he makes a down payment the first month, and then pays a specific amount each month for a period of time not specified. Th total cost nonetheless is now given as follows;
Cost = 97.00 + 51.83 (x - 1)
The equation can be interpreted as follows;
The initial down payment is 97.00
The monthly payment is 51.83
The number of months during which Matteus would pay 51.83 per mont is given as (x - 1).
This is because when 51.83 is multiplied by the number of months it took him to pay up in full, and then added to the initial down payment, then his payment for the gold pass is complete. So the equation actually represents the total amount Matteus paid, and (x - 1) represents the number of months it took him to pay the monthly installments.
