Question

Betty earns $52.65 per week working as a lifeguard. She worked as a lifeguard for 5 weeks. She also earned $46.25 painting faces at a carnival. She spent $16.25 of her total earnings to buy a book. Betty put 1 over 6 of the remaining money in her savings account. Betty used the following steps to find the total money she put in her saving account: Step 1: [($52.65 ⋅ 5) + $46.25 − $16.25] ⋅ 1 over 6 Step 2: [$263.25 + $46.25 − $16.25] ⋅ 1 over 6 Step 3: 293.25 ⋅ 1 over 6 Step 4: $1,759.50 In which step did Betty first make an error? Use words to explain how Betty can correct her error.

Answer 1

The mistake is in step 4. It's correct up to step 3. Step 3 shows: $293.25 * 1/6 (this is correct) Now you must multiply $293.25 by the fraction 1/6, which is the same as dividing $293.25 by 6. Instead, in step 4, $293.25 was multiplied by 6. Step 4 is the mistake.