Question

Ismael is comparing cell phone plans before upgrading his phone. Ameri-Mobile offers a low activation fee, but a high monthly payment. Cell-U-Later offers a lower monthly rate, but the activation fee is higher. Create a possible algebraic expression for both Ameri-Mobile and Cell-U-Later that shows the amount paid after an unknown amount of months have passed. Justify how you created those expressions and identify what each term and factor represents in terms of the cell phone plans.

Answer 1

An activation fee is something you pay only once.
The monthly payment is made every month. So if you go through one month, you pay it once (1*monthly_payment). In three months, you pay it three times, or 3*monthly_payment.
So the total price paid is the sum of activation fee and monthly payment.

Are you able to see where to begin with this information?