The total amount of Judy’s water bill for the last quarter of the year was \(\$ 40.50\). The bill consisted of a fixed charge of \(\$ 13.50\) plus a charge of \(\$ 0.0075\) per gallon for the water used in the quarter. For how many gallons of water was Judy charged for the quarter?
Show Hint
To find how many gallons were used, subtract the fixed charge and then divide by the per-gallon charge.
The total bill is the fixed charge plus the charge per gallon:
\[
40.50 = 13.50 + 0.0075 \times \text{gallons}
\]
Subtract 13.50 from both sides:
\[
27 = 0.0075 \times \text{gallons}
\]
Now, divide both sides by 0.0075:
\[
\text{gallons} = \frac{27}{0.0075} = 3600
\]
Final Answer:
\[
\boxed{3600}
\]
