Math Problem Statement

A telephone company charges $30 a month and gives the customer 200 free call minutes. After the 200 min, the company charges $0.03 a minute. a) Write the function using function notation.

Solution

The problem in the image describes a telephone company charging a flat rate of $30 per month with 200 free call minutes, after which the company charges $0.03 per minute.

a) Write the function using function notation.

Let's define the function C(x)C(x), where C(x)C(x) represents the total monthly cost, and xx is the total number of call minutes used in a month.

  • For the first 200 minutes, the cost is fixed at $30.
  • For any additional minutes beyond 200, there is an additional charge of $0.03 per minute.

Thus, the function can be written as:

\begin{cases} 30 & \text{if } x \leq 200, \\ 30 + 0.03(x - 200) & \text{if } x > 200. \end{cases}$$ This piecewise function represents the monthly charge based on the number of minutes used. Do you need further clarification or details? ### Related questions: 1. How would the function change if the charge per minute after 200 minutes was different? 2. What would the function look like if there was no fixed $30 monthly fee but only a per-minute charge? 3. How can this function be graphed, and what does the graph represent? 4. What happens to the total cost if a user makes exactly 200 minutes of calls? 5. How can we express this cost function using a single algebraic expression (without piecewise)? ### Tip: When working with piecewise functions, always remember to carefully consider the boundary conditions, such as the point where the pricing changes from a flat rate to per-minute charges.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Algebra
Piecewise Functions

Formulas

C(x) = 30 for x ≤ 200, C(x) = 30 + 0.03(x - 200) for x > 200

Theorems

Piecewise function definitions

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 9-12