Question

Carla is shopping for Storage Bags. At the grocery store, Brand A Storage Bags are priced $4.59 for 40 count, or Brand B Storage Bags priced $3.99 for 30 count. Which is the better buy, Brand A or Brand B?

Answer 1

Brand A

Explanation:

The cost comparison can be done a variety of ways. The most formal of solutions will calculate the cost per bag for the two brands.

Informal solution

The cost for 10 bags of Brand B is $3.99/3 = $1.33. The cost for 10 more bags (40 bags instead of 30) of Brand A is $4.59 -3.99 = $0.60. This is less than the $1.33 it would cost to buy 10 more bags of Brand B, so ...

Brand A is the better buy

Formal solution

The cost per bag is found by dividing the cost by number of bags:

Brand A: $4.59 / (40 bags) = $0.11475 per bag

Brand B: $3.99 / (30 bags) = $0.133 per bag

13¢ per bag is more than 11¢ per bag, so Brand A is the better buy.

Answer 2

Brand A

Explanation:

Comment

The question is one of finding out what the unit cost is.

Brand A: $4.59 has a count of 40

Brand B: $3.99 has a count of 30

Brand A

unit = 4.59 / 40 = 0.115

Rounded: 0.12

Brand B

unit = 3.99 / 30 = 0.133

rounded: 0.13

Brand A even with proper rounding is the better buy