Question

Jared lost a total of $9.00 on his investment over 2 months, losing an equal amount of money each month. What does "-4.50" tell us?

a. The total amount lost per month
b. The total amount lost over two months
c. The average amount lost per month
d. The amount lost in the first month

Answer 1

The value -4.50 represents the average amount of money lost per month by Jared, which is obtained by dividing the total loss by the number of months.

Step-by-step explanation:

The -4.50 signifies the average amount lost per month. Since Jared lost a total of $9.00 over 2 months, and the loss was equal each month, dividing the total loss by the number of months (2) gives us the average monthly loss of $4.50. This figure represents a consistent monthly expense, akin to how an individual might calculate their discretionary spending after accounting for fixed expenses such as rent and bills. Therefore, the average amount lost per month is -$4.50.