Example 5To translate successfully, you must first be sure you understand the original.
It’s usually a good idea to read a word problem question stem twice. The
charge for the first fifth of a mile is 2 dollars. You want your answer in cents, so
write:
charge = 200 + · · ·No matter how far you go, your fare starts with 200 cents. On top of that, you
pay 20 cents for each additional fifth of a mile:
charge = 200 + 20(# of additional fifth-miles)The trickiest part of this translation is figuring out how to express the number
of additional fifth-miles in terms of x.
The charge for a taxi ride in a certain city is 2 dollars for the first one-
fifth of a mile and 20 cents for each additional one-fifth of a mile.
Which of the following expressions represents the charge, in cents, for
a taxi ride of exactly x miles, where x is a positive integer?1.
(A) 2 x + 80
(B) 3 x
(C) 100 x + 180
(D) 200 x + 80
(E) 300 x