Final answer:
After converting the 77 grams to ounces and applying the cost structure of 46 cents for the first ounce and 25 cents for each additional ounce, the cost to mail the letter is 96 cents, which does not match with any of the given options.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question asks what the cost of mailing a letter that weighs 77 grams would be, given the cost structure of 46 cents for the first ounce and 25 cents for each additional ounce or fraction of an ounce. First, we need to convert grams to ounces, since the cost structure is given in ounces. There are approximately 28.35 grams in one ounce. Therefore, 77 grams is roughly 77 / 28.35, which equals approximately 2.72 ounces.
Since the initial cost covers up to one ounce, we subtract the first ounce to see how many additional ounces we need to calculate for: 2.72 ounces − 1 ounce = 1.72 ounces. As the cost structure indicates that each additional ounce or fraction thereof costs an additional 25 cents, we need to round up to the nearest whole ounce. This means we consider the weight as if it were 3 ounces in total (2 additional ounces).
Now we can calculate the cost: 46 cents for the first ounce + (25 cents × 2 additional ounces) = 46 cents + 50 cents = 96 cents. The cost of mailing a 77-gram letter is therefore 96 cents, which is not listed in the provided options, and it seems there is a discrepancy in the cost structure provided by the student and the one used in the example. Given the information the student provided, none of the options a) $0.92 b) $1.56 c) $1.34 d) $1.98 match the calculated cost.