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Use a number line to help represent the situation from the exercise. Recall how to describe changes on a number line using absolute values.
Mrs. Jones's Offer: -240
Mr. Beliz's Offer: -248
Conclusion: Mrs. Jones's lessons are the better deal. See solution.
We want to determine which teacher offers the better deal for Samantha. First, let's take a look at the two different offers from the guitar teachers.
| Teacher | Cost per Lesson | Number of Lessons to Learn the Song |
|---|---|---|
| Mrs. Jones | $80 | 3 |
| Mr. Beliz | $62 | 4 |
We can use a number line to find out how much Samantha has to pay for each offer.
Let's start with Mrs. Jones's offer. We know that Mrs. Jones requires 3 lessons to teach Samantha her favorite song. That means she will have to pay $80 3 times. Let's list the steps we will follow to create a number line for this situation.
Let's mark these steps on the number line.
As we can see from the graph, the sum of - 80, -80, and -80 describes the situation from the exercise. Let's write an expression to represent the cost of learning the song from Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Jones's Offer: (-80)+(-80)+(-80) We will add the three integers to solve the expression. We can solve it exactly as we would solve for two integers. Notice that we are adding integers with the same signs, all negative. This means that we will add the absolute values of the integers. Let's do it!
Keep in mind that we moved three times to the left of 0 on the number line. This means that the result is negative, and we can say that the integer that represents the amount of money Mrs. Jones's charges is -240.
Now let's focus on Mr. Beliz's offer. Let's make another list of the steps we we will follow to create a number line for this situation.
Let's mark these steps on the number line.
The graph suggests that the sum of - 62, -62, -62, and -62 describes the situation from the exercise. Let's write these integers as an addition expression to represent the amount of money that Mr. Beliz charges to learn the song. Mr. Beliz's Offer: (-62)+(-62)+(-62)+(-62) We can add the integers together to find how much money Samantha will have after learning the songs. Notice that these integers have the same signs again, four negative. Let's add the absolute values of the integers.
We moved four times to the left of 0 on the number line. This means that the result is negative, and we can say that the integer that represents the amount of money Mr. Beliz's charges is -248.
Finally, let's compare costs of each set of lessons. Cost of Mrs. Jones's Lessons:& $240 Cost of Mr. Beliz's Lessons:& $248 If we compare the two offers, we can say that Mrs. Jones offers a better deal because Samantha will have to pay less to learn the song.