Question

Samuel and Jason sell cans to recycle, earning $0.40 per pound. Samuel wants to buy batteries costing $6 each. On Monday, he collects 16.2 pounds, and on Tuesday, 11.8 pounds. How many batteries can Samuel buy?

a) 23
b) 20
c) 26
d) 28

Answer 1

Samuel earned a total of $11.20 by recycling cans, which allows him to buy 1 full battery priced at $6 each, with some money left over.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question deals with determining the number of batteries Samuel can buy after selling cans to recycle. Samuel earns $0.40 per pound from recycling cans and wants to buy batteries that cost $6 each. On Monday, he recycles 16.2 pounds of cans and on Tuesday, he recycles 11.8 pounds.

To solve this, we first need to calculate the total earnings for the two days:

• Monday: 16.2 pounds × $0.40/pound = $6.48
• Tuesday: 11.8 pounds × $0.40/pound = $4.72

Next, we add the earnings from both days to find the total amount Samuel has earned:

Total earnings: $6.48 (Monday) + $4.72 (Tuesday) = $11.20

Now, we determine how many batteries Samuel can buy with his total earnings. To do this, we divide the total earnings by the cost of one battery:

Number of batteries: $11.20 total earnings ÷ $6 per battery = 1.86 batteries

Since Samuel cannot buy a fraction of a battery, he can buy 1 full battery with his earnings, and he'll have some money left over.