Word problems

[BTGmoderatorRO]

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
OA is d

what is the approach to use here? can any expert help me out

[EconomistGMATTutor]

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
OA is d

Hi Roland2rule,
Let's take a look at your question.
According to the telecom company charges the first three minutes costs 50 cents then the next 15 minutes cost 20 cents for every 5 minutes and thereafter the company charges 2 cents per minute.

Using this plan, we are asked to find the call charges of Jack who spoke exactly for 50 minutes.
Let's break down his call duration according to the given call plan.
Total Cost of 50 minutes call = Cost of First 3 minutes + Cost of Next 15 minutes + Cost of next 32 minutes
Total Cost of 15 minutes call = 50 + 3(Cost of 5 minutes) + 32(2)
Total Cost of 15 minutes call = 50 + 3(20) + 32(2)
Total Cost of 15 minutes call = 50 + 60 + 64
Total Cost of 15 minutes call = 174 Cents

Divide it by 100 to convert to dollars.
$$\frac{174}{100}=1.74$$
Therefore, 50 minutes of call will cost $1.74.

Option D is correct.

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

[Scott@TargetTestPrep]

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
OA is d

what is the approach to use here? can any expert help me out

For the first 3 minutes, the cost of the call is 50 cents. For the next 15 minutes, the cost is 20 x (15/5) = 20 x 3 = 60 cents. For the last 50 - 3 - 15 = 32 minutes, the cost is 2 x 62 = 64 cents. Thus, the total cost of the 50-minute call is:

50 + 60 + 64 = 174 cents = $1.74

Answer: D