Question

A website sells used comic books. The table shows how the price of Painted Tiger, Volume 1, has changed over the last 4 months. If the price started at $7.37, what is the current price? Explain how you know that your answer is reasonable.

Answer 1

Explanation:
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Price starts at: $7.37.
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The first month, it increases by $0.50, so we add $0.50 to that starting value:
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    $  7.37 
+      0.50
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    $  7.80
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The second month, it decreases by $0.38, so we subtract $0.38 from our last obtained value:
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    $  7.80
-       0.38
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    $  7.42
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During the third month, it increases by $0.32, so we add $0.32 to our last obtained value:
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    $  7.42
+      0.32
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    $  7.74
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During the fourth month, it decreases by $0.12, so we subtract $0.12 from our last obtained value:
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    $  7.74
-       0.12
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    $  7.62; which is our answer.
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How do we know our answer is reasonable?
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We start with: $7.37, then plus $0.50, then minus 0.38, then plus 0.32, then minus 0.12.
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The "minus 0.38"and "plus 0.32" do not "cancel out" , but come close to. The "plus 0.50" and "minus 0.12"; in consideration with the above sentence; suggest that the value should be over the starting price of $7.37, but not much more than $8.00; or even less than $8.00. 
  Our answer is: $7.62; which seems "reasonable".
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