The electricity meter on Donna's house

Question

read 71,236.4 kwh at the beginning of
March and 73,196.2 kwh at the end of
March. She pays 7.4 per kwh. What is
the amount of her electricity bill for
March? Round to the nearest cent.

I came up with $145.03 Would you
please check to make sure I am correct?

No
(73 196.2 - 71 236.4)/7.4 =264.84 to the nearest cent

I added 71,236.4 + 73,196.2 divided by
7.4.

The possible solutions are:
A. $139.19
B. $145.03
C. $159.85
D. $195.98

One of these solutions is correct.
Please help, because I am wrong also.

Jake's process is not quite correct, and there's something wrong with his arithmetic!

73196.2 - 71236.4 = 1959.8

Multiply that by .074, and you get your answer. B is correct.

You subtract to get the number of kwh used during the month. Then you multiply the number of kwh used by the number of cents, but you must use the $.074 to multiply by, not 7.4¢.

=)

Congratulations, Veronica! You got it right the first time!
=)