Brenna is buying 4.25 feet of ribbon for $1.95 a foot. She determines the product of the two numbers to determine the actual cost of the length of ribbon. Which expression will result in the best estimate for Brenna to use to check her multiplication?

Question

4 times 1
4 times 2
5 times 1

Answer 1

To estimate the cost of the ribbon Brenna is buying, we can round the numbers involved:

• The length of ribbon is 4.25 feet, which can be rounded to 4 or 5 feet for estimation.
• The cost per foot is $1.95, which can be rounded to $2 for estimation.

Now, the expressions you provided are:

1. \(4 \times 1\)
2. \(4 \times 2\)
3. \(5 \times 1\)

Among these options, the expression \(4 \times 2\) provides the best estimate because it closely approximates the actual multiplication (4.25 feet times $1.95) by rounding 1.95 to 2 and using the rounded length of 4 feet.

Thus, the best estimate for Brenna to check her multiplication is 4 times 2.