Final answer:
a. $55. To find out how much is allocated to books and supplies from the monthly budget of $550, you can multiply the budget by a certain percentage, such as 10%, to find the amount.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find out how much is allocated to books and supplies, you need to calculate a portion of the student's monthly budget of $550.
Let's assume that the percentage allocated to books and supplies is 10%. To find this, you can convert 10% to a decimal by dividing it by 100, which is 0.10.
Finally, multiply 0.10 by $550 to find the amount allocated to books and supplies:
Amount allocated to books and supplies = 0.10 x $550 = $55
Therefore, the correct answer is $55 (option a).