A lawyer charges for her services based on the number of hours worked. The expression gives the total cost for h hours is 200h+250. Which is the best interpretation of this expression

H is the number of hours worked. So the expression 200h+250 is 200 times the number of hours plus 250.

Here's a few computations using different values for h

1 hour - - > (200) (1) + 250 = 450

2 hours - - > (200) (2) + 250 = 650

3 hours - - > (200) (3) + 250 = 850

10 hours - - > (200) (10) + 250 = 2250

As you can see the 250 is fixed. It gets added to the cost no matter how many hours the lawyer works. This is most likely a flat fee. Just to meet the lawyer you pay $250.

The 200 gets multiplied by the hours worked. So the 200 is an hourly rate. The more hours the lawyer works, the more he gets paid because this part of the expression depends on the hours worked.

Thus, an interpretation of the expression 200h + 250 is that the lawyer charges a fee of $250 per consultation and an additional $200 per hour on top of that.