Final answer:
Paul needs to bake 13 brownies to ensure he makes $10 based on his expectation of selling four out of every five brownies. Since the options given don't include 13, he should bake 20 to guarantee reaching his goal.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks us to determine how many brownies Paul should bake to earn $10, assuming he sells four out of every five brownies he bakes. Let's assume that the price of one brownie is $x. Since Paul wants to earn $10, we can set up the following equation: (4/5)n × x = $10, where n is the total number of brownies baked. We do not know the price of each brownie, but we can figure out the relationship between the number of brownies baked and the number sold. To find out how many brownies Paul should bake, we simply need to calculate 5/4 × 10, because for every 5 baked, 4 will be sold for each $10 earned.
The calculation is:
- 5/4 × 10 = 12.5
Paul cannot bake half a brownie, so he must round up to the nearest whole number. Therefore, Paul needs to bake 13 brownies to earn $10, assuming he can only sell the brownies in whole units and rounds up to ensure he has enough to meet his sales goal.
However, since the options given were A. 5 B. 10 C. 20 D. 25 and none of these are 13, we need to pick the closest higher number to ensure he reaches his goal. That number is Option C. 20.