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

I think the best place to start would be defining your variables.
m = months
aA = activation fee for Ameri Moble
mA = monthly payment for Ameri Moble
aC = activation fee for Cell-U-Later
mC = monthly payment for Cell-U-Later
t = total over an amount of months

aA+(m*mA)=t for Ameri Moble
aC+(m*mC)=t for Cell-U-Later

You should be able to plug in the vars for the different companies and calculate the cost for a given amount of months.