An automobile repair shop charged a customer $1182, listing $357 for parts and the remainder for labor. If the cost of labor is $75 per hour, how many hours of labor did it take to repair the car?

To solve the problem, one must first understand how to calculate the total cost of a service. The total cost is the sum of all individual components, in this case, parts and labor. By subtracting the cost of parts from the total charge, we can determine the total labor cost.

The concept of unit rate is essential for understanding how costs are calculated per hour. In this scenario, the labor cost is given as $75 per hour. Knowing the unit rate allows us to relate the total labor cost to the number of hours worked, facilitating the calculation of hours based on the total labor cost.

Setting up an algebraic equation is crucial for solving the problem systematically. Once the total labor cost is determined, we can create an equation where the total labor cost equals the hourly rate multiplied by the number of hours. This equation can then be solved to find the unknown variable, which in this case is the number of hours of labor.