Question 577070
Each gallon costs the owner of the gas station $1.99. So the gas that the gas station buys and sells each month costs  the owner ${{{1.99x}}}.
Other (fixed) costs of operating the gas station add up to $27,000.
The amount the owner spends each month is the sum of those two amounts. The cost, in $, is
{{{highlight(C(x)=1.99x+27000)}}}
That is the cost function.
The problem does not ask, but selling x gallons generates
${{{2.99x}}}.
Is the gas station operating at a loss?
If the amount of money collected does not match or surpass the cost, the owner is losing money. That's what would happen if
{{{2.99x<1.99x+27000}}} --> {{{2.99x-1.99x=27000}}} --> {{{x=27000}}}
If that gas station does not sell 27,000 gallons of gas each month, it is losing money.