Isabel sells new and used mystery novels online. Her customers are primarily in the United States. She sends up to 10 pounds of books in one shipment. She uses the United States Postal Service’s Media Mail service because it is inexpensive for her customers. Current Media Mail shipping prices for book shipments weighing 10 pounds or less appear below.

Question

Weight Not Over (lbs.)
Price
0
$0
1
$2.69
2
$3.17
3
$3.65
4
$4.13
5
$4.61
6
$5.09
7
$5.57
8
$6.03
9
$6.49
10
$6.95

How much would it cost to ship a package weighing 3.2 pounds? Explain how you arrived at your answer. (3 points)

Answer 1

To determine the cost of shipping a package weighing 3.2 pounds via the United States Postal Service's Media Mail service, we should refer to the provided shipping price list based on weight ranges.

In the price list, the shipping prices correspond to whole number weights (in pounds). For a shipment weighing 3.2 pounds, we must round it up to the next whole number weight for pricing purposes.

The relevant weights and their associated prices from the table are:

• 3 pounds: $3.65
• 4 pounds: $4.13

Since 3.2 pounds is more than 3 pounds but less than or equal to 4 pounds, we round it up to 4 pounds. Therefore, we use the price listed for 4 pounds.

Thus, the cost to ship a package weighing 3.2 pounds would be $4.13.