College

Select the correct answer.

Niall owes [tex]\$187[/tex] to his cousin. However, he doesn't have any money right now. He hopes to earn some money by painting a house. He gets paid [tex]\$34[/tex] for every 2 hours he paints. Which equation of a line models [tex]y[/tex], the amount of money he will have after paying back his cousin, in terms of [tex]x[/tex], the number of hours he spends painting?

A. [tex]y = 34x - 187[/tex]

B. [tex]y = 17x + 187[/tex]

C. [tex]y = 34x + 187[/tex]

D. [tex]y = 17x - 187[/tex]

Answer :

To solve the problem and determine the correct equation of a line that models the amount of money Niall will have after paying back his cousin, we need to consider a few key points:

1. Initial Debt: Niall owes his cousin [tex]$187. This means any money he earns first goes to paying back this debt.

2. Earnings from Painting: Niall earns $[/tex]34 for every 2 hours he spends painting. To find how much he earns per hour, we divide [tex]$34 by 2, which gives us $[/tex]17 per hour.

3. Equation of the Line:
- We want to express the total amount of money Niall will have, [tex]\( y \)[/tex], in terms of the number of hours, [tex]\( x \)[/tex], he works.
- Since he earns [tex]$17 per hour, the part of the equation representing his earnings is \( 17x \).
- Initially, he is in debt by $[/tex]187. So, before he can have any positive money, he must pay this debt. This starts him off with [tex]\( -187 \)[/tex].

Putting it all together, the equation that models this situation is:

[tex]\[ y = 17x - 187 \][/tex]

Therefore, the correct answer is:

D. [tex]\( y = 17x - 187 \)[/tex]