Can someone help me ?

Harold has been hired as a salesman. He is paid a flat rate of $375 each week and earns an additional $14.25 commission for each sale. If x represents the number of sales and y represents the total earned, which equation will help Harold determine the amount he earns in one week?

y = $375h – $14.25

y = $375h + $14.25

y = $14.25h + $375

y = $14.25h – $375

Question

Can someone help me ?

Harold has been hired as a salesman. He is paid a flat rate of $375 each week and earns an additional $14.25 commission for each sale. If x represents the number of sales and y represents the total earned, which equation will help Harold determine the amount he earns in one week?

 y = $375h – $14.25

 y = $375h + $14.25

 y = $14.25h + $375

 y = $14.25h – $375

anonymous · Answer

I think   y = $14.25h + $375 is correct ?

whpalmer4 · Answer

No, there's no $h$ here...

whpalmer4 · Answer

are those h's supposed to be x's?

whpalmer4 · Answer

But as Mertsj said, a good way to test the equation is to see if it gives the right answer if there are no sales.

anonymous · Answer

@whpalmer4 yes

whpalmer4 · Answer

what does your equation give if the number of sales is 0?

anonymous · Answer

I dont really know o.O

whpalmer4 · Answer

what is the variable that represents the number of sales?

anonymous · Answer

x

whpalmer4 · Answer

okay.  if x=0, what is y?

anonymous · Answer

total number of sales

whpalmer4 · Answer

no, that's not correct.  reread the problem statement.

anonymous · Answer

If x represents the number of sales and y represents the total earned

whpalmer4 · Answer

yes.  so, if x = 0, what is the value of y?

anonymous · Answer

14.25 ?

whpalmer4 · Answer

what is the equation you are using?

anonymous · Answer

I dont really know anything :c im trying to get help from someone who know thhis more than me

whpalmer4 · Answer

Come on.  You have to choose an equation.  Pick one that you think represents how much the salesperson gets paid if they have a flat rate of $375 each week and a commission of $14.25 for each sale.  Once you've made a selection, try it out!  Put in 0 for the number of sales.  What comes as the total earnings?  Does that number make sense for the scenario described?  If not, pick another one.

whpalmer4 · Answer

If he doesn't make any sales, how much money does he earn for the week?

anonymous · Answer

375 ?

whpalmer4 · Answer

Yes.  So any equation you write or choose must give y = 375 if x = 0.

whpalmer4 · Answer

How much does he make if he makes 1 sale in the week?

anonymous · Answer

14 . 25 ?

whpalmer4 · Answer

what happened to the flat rate of $375 per week?

whpalmer4 · Answer

he makes $375 per week, + a commission of $14.25 per sale, right?

whpalmer4 · Answer

how do you write an equation that expresses that, if $x$ is the number of sales, and $y$ is the total earned?

anonymous · Answer

y=375x+14.25

whpalmer4 · Answer

Okay, plug in x=0 in that equation.  What comes out?

whpalmer4 · Answer

$$375(0)+14.25 = $$

anonymous · Answer

14.25 :D

whpalmer4 · Answer

Okay.  That's not the right answer, is it?

anonymous · Answer

Nope .. I think :/

whpalmer4 · Answer

He's supposed to make $375 if he doesn't have any sales.  How could you modify your equation to make that be the case?

anonymous · Answer

y = $375h + $14.25

whpalmer4 · Answer

where do you get this h from?  do you see an h in the problem statement?

whpalmer4 · Answer

what does h represent?

anonymous · Answer

its in my answer choice idk :c

whpalmer4 · Answer

well, your answer choices don't match your problem statement.  but we'll "correct" your problem statement to say "h" instead of "x".

We just demonstrated that y = 375x + 14.25 didn't do the right thing if he doesn't have any sales, why do you think the same equation will work better if we change x to h?  What's your reasoning here?