SOLUTION: Janice buys 4 3/5 pounds of potatoes at $.75 perpound. What is the cost of the potatoes?

Question 23715: Janice buys 4 3/5 pounds of potatoes at $.75 perpound. What is the cost of the potatoes?
Answer by rapaljer(4671) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
To find the total cost of the potatoes, you need to multiply the cost per pound, times the number of pounds. That would be:
(4 3/5)*(.75).

The big question is probably what is the best way to calculate this? There are seveal ways. First, in the old days, when I was a young man and there were NO CALCULATORS in the world (yes, algebra HAD been invented by that time!), we had to find easy ways to do the math. We would probably have converted to improper fractions like this:
4 3/5 = (5*4 + 3)/5 = 23/5

Now,
(4 3/5)*(.75)

, which is an easy division problem
$3.45

However, this younger generation has a great opportunity to solve problems with a hand-held calculator (not that you should forget how to use the one in your head!!), provided your instructor allows such a thing.

Back to the very beginning of the problem, you could have converted everything to decimals, if you know that 3/5 = .6:
4.6*.75 = $3.45.

Or do it BOTH ways as a check!

R^2 at SCC

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