An electric utility company determines the monthly bill for a residential customer by adding an energy charge of 6.34 cents per kilowatt-hour to its base charge of $18.38 per month. Write an equation for the monthly charge y in terms of x, the number of kilowatt-hours used. (Let y be measured in dollars.)

y = 18.38 + 0.0634x

Step-by-step explanation:

Given,

Monthly base charge = $18.38,

Also, the cost of each kilowatt-hours = 6.34 cents = $ 0.0634

(1 cents = 0.01 dollars),

So, the cost of x kilowatt-hours = 0.0634x,

If y represents the total monthly charge (in dollars) for x kilowatt-hours,

Thus, the total monthly charge for x kilowatt-hours = base charge + cost of x kilowatt-hours,

⇒ y = 18.38 + 0.0634x

Which is the required equation.