Helena had a balance of $14.48 left on a gift card. She bought a muffin each for her, and five of her friends. The cost of each muffin was $1.02.

Helena says she has about $8.50 left on her gift card. Is her statement reasonable?
A.
This is not reasonable because $14.48 can be rounded to $14.50 and $1.02 can be rounded to $2. Since 14.50 - 6(2) = 2.50, she would have about $2.50 left on her gift card.

B.
This is reasonable because $14.48 can be rounded to $14.40 and $1.02 can be rounded to $1. Since 14.40 - 5(1) = 9.40, she would have about $9.40 left on her gift card.

C.
This is not reasonable because $14.48 can be rounded to $15 and $1.02 can be rounded to $2. Since 15 - 5(2) = 5, she would have about $5 left on her gift card.

D.
This is reasonable because $14.48 can be rounded to $14.50 and $1.02 can be rounded to $1. Since 14.50 - 6(1) = 8.50, she would have about $8.50 left on her gift card.

1 answer

To determine if Helena's statement is reasonable, let's do the calculations using the information provided:

  1. Total cost of muffins: Helena bought a muffin for herself and five of her friends, totaling six muffins. Each muffin costs $1.02. \[ \text{Total cost} = 6 \times 1.02 = 6.12 \]

  2. Remaining balance: Helena originally had $14.48 on her gift card. After buying the muffins, her remaining balance would be: \[ \text{Remaining balance} = 14.48 - 6.12 = 8.36 \]

Now, let's evaluate Helena's statement that she has about $8.50 left on her gift card.

We can consider the options provided:

A. This option states that rounding $14.48 to $14.50 and $1.02 to $2 gives a remaining balance calculation of $2.50, which clearly is incorrect.

B. This option states that rounding $14.48 to $14.40 and $1.02 to $1 gives a remaining balance of $9.40, which is also too high.

C. This option indicates rounding $14.48 to $15 and $1.02 to $2 gives a remaining balance of $5, which also does not match.

D. This option states that if we round $14.48 to $14.50 and $1.02 to $1, the calculation is: \[ 14.50 - 6 \times 1 = 14.50 - 6 = 8.50 \] This calculation gives exactly $8.50.

Thus, the statement is reasonable since Helena could have about $8.50 left after her purchases.

The correct answer is D.