Problem Solving

A telecom company charges in the following manner each call costs a minimum of 50 cents which includes the talk time for
the first three minutes; thereafter, the company charges 20 cents for every five minutes over the next fifteen minutes;
thereafter, the company charges a nominal two cents per minute. Jack made a call and spoke for exactly 50 minutes. What
was the total cost of his call?

A. $0.72
B. $0.92
C. $1.1
D. $1.74
E. $3.14

Can somebody present a strategic approach to this question?

ardz24 wrote:A telecom company charges in the following manner each call costs a minimum of 50 cents which includes the talk time for
the first three minutes; thereafter, the company charges 20 cents for every five minutes over the next fifteen minutes;
thereafter, the company charges a nominal two cents per minute. Jack made a call and spoke for exactly 50 minutes. What
was the total cost of his call?

A. $0.72
B. $0.92
C. $1.1
D. $1.74
E. $3.14

Can somebody present a strategic approach to this question?

Cost for first 3 minutes: $.50
Cost for next 15 minutes (Three 5-minute intervals): $.20*3 = $.60
Cost for remaining 32 minutes: $.02 * 32 = $.64
Total Cost for 50 minutes: $.50 + $.60 + $.64 = $1.74 Answer is D

A telecom company charges in the following manner each call costs a minimum of 50 cents which includes the talk time for
the first three minutes; thereafter, the company charges 20 cents for every five minutes over the next fifteen minutes;
thereafter, the company charges a nominal two cents per minute. Jack made a call and spoke for exactly 50 minutes. What
was the total cost of his call?

A. $0.72
B. $0.92
C. $1.1
D. $1.74
E. $3.14

Can somebody present a strategic approach to this question?

Hi ardz24,
Let's take a look at your question.

The questions states the charges of Telecom company as,
50 cents for first 3 minutes;
20 cents each of 5 minutes for the next 15 minutes;
and two cents per minutes thereafter.

We need to find the charges for a 50 minutes call. Let break down the call duration according to the charges of the company.

Charges of 50 minutes call = First 3 minutes charges + Next 15 minutes charges + remaining 32 minutes
Charges of 50 minutes call = 50 cents + 3( 5 minutes charges) + 32 (per minute charges)
Charges of 50 minutes call = 50 cents + 3( 20 cents) + 32( 2 cents)

Convert cents into dollars by diving by 100,
Charges of 50 minutes call = 0.5 + 3(0.2) + 32(0.02)
Charges of 50 minutes call = 0.5 + 0.6 + 0.64
Charges of 50 minutes call = $1.74

Therefore, Option D is correct.

Hope this helps.
I am available if you'd like any follow up.