Basic Arithmetic : Basic Arithmetic

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Basic Arithmetic

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #13 : Money And Time

Laura is going bowling with her friends this weekend and she is using some of the money that she has saved up from allowance and her birthday. She will have to pay a flat fee of $8 to rent her shoes and $10.50 per game she bowls.  If she has planned to bowl 4 games and she is only taking $50 with her to the bowling alley will she have enough money?  If yes, how much money will she have when she leaves the bowling alley?

Possible Answers:

Yes,

No

Yes, None.

None of the other answers.

Yes,

Correct answer:

Yes, None.

Explanation:

The flat fee for the shoes will only be paid once since the shoes will be used for all four games.  The cost per game will be paid each time one game finishes and a new one is started.

To calculate her cost add the fee for the shoes and the fee for each game played.  That would be $8 (shoes) + $10.50 (game 1) + $10.50 (game 2) + $10.50 (game 3) + $10.50 (game 4) = $50 (total cost).

Laura had $50 with her so there was enough money and nothing left over when she left the bowling alley.

Example Question #14 : Money And Time

Danielle buys four items costing , , , and . What is the estimated total of Danielle's items?

Possible Answers:

Between  and 

Between  and 

Between and 

Between  and 

Correct answer:

Between  and 

Explanation:

To solve this problem, one should round either to the tenths place, or to the nearest dollar.  can be rounded to ,  to ,  to , and  to . When one adds up the estimated costs, it yields about .

Example Question #2 : How To Add

Sam buys four items, costing , , and . What is the estimated cost of Sam's items?

Possible Answers:

Between  and  dollars

Between  and  dollars

Between  and  dollars

Between  and  dollars

Correct answer:

Between  and  dollars

Explanation:

In this problem, the costs of the items can be rounded to either the nearest dollar, or the nearest ten cents. 

 and  can be rounded to  and , respectively. 

 can be rounded to , and  can be rounded to .

When the new, estimated costs of the items are added, the sum is , which is between  and  dollars.

Example Question #2 : Addition And Subtraction With Money

George buys four items costing

Approximately how much does he pay in total?

Possible Answers:

Between  and 

More than 

Less than 

Between  and 

Between  and 

Correct answer:

Between  and 

Explanation:

First, add up all of the values:

Then, decide which of the answer choices approximates this value. Our answer is between  and .

Another way to solve this problem is to round the four values to their nearest whole numbers and then sum those rounded values:

Example Question #15 : Money And Time

Henry had $538.23 in his checking account at the bank before he went shopping. At the mall, he spent $43.91 at one store and $71.84 at another store. How much money does Henry have left in his bank account?

Possible Answers:

$423.52

$423.48

$422.48

$422.84

Correct answer:

$422.48

Explanation:

To find the difference, you must subtract. But first you must add the two amounts he spent at the mall:

 

 

Now subtract. Line up the numbers vertically. Remember to use the rules of borrowing to subtract.

 


Henry now has $422.48 in his bank account.

Example Question #3 : How To Subtract

Mark went to the grocery store to buy ingredients to make a cake. He bought eggs for $2.99, flour for $4.99, sugar for $3.99, and butter for $2.50. If he paid the cashier with a $20 bill, how much money did he recieve in change?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since the question is asking how much money did Mark have left over, we need to subtract the cost of each item he bought from $20.

There are two ways of solving this problem:

  • We can add up the cost of all the ingredients and then subtract the total cost from $20.00

  • We can subtract the cost of each item from $20.00. Note, if we choose to solve the problem this way, we must follow order of operations and go from left to right     

Example Question #16 : Money And Time

Sally bought 3 different picture frames and paid a total of $60. If the first frame cost $15 and the second frame cost $25, how much did the third frame cost?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to find out how much the third frame costs, we need to subtract the cost of the first two frames ($15 and $25) from the total amount ($60).

There are two ways to subtract the cost of the first two frames from the total amount:

Method 1

We can subtract the total amount spent on the first two frames from $60

                                                      

Remember to follow Order of Operations (PEMDAS) and add the numbers in parenthesis first.

The cost of the third frame was $20

Method 2

We can subtract the cost of each frame from $60

The cost of the third frame was $20

Example Question #17 : Money And Time

Larry owes Jon $5.75. If Larry gives Jon a $10 bill and Jon gives him change in quarters, how many quarters does Jon give to Larry?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If Larry gives Jon a $10 bill to pay him back for $5.75, Jon will need to give Larry back .

If Jon gives the change in quarters, he will give him  quarters.

 

 

Example Question #151 : Basic Arithmetic

If Betty has  in her wallet and buys a sandwich that costs , how much money will she have left in her wallet, in dollars?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If Betty has  in her wallet and buys a sandwich that costs , the best way to determine how much money is left in her wallet is to subtract  from

An easy way to do this is to first subtract  and . This results in: 

Next,  should be subtracted from . This results in: 

Therefore, Betty will have  left in her wallet. 

Example Question #1 : Linear Equations With Money

If Bobby makes  an hour plus a  bonus a day, how much would Bobby make if he works  hours today?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

1. Find the equation from this scenario:

Since Bobby makes $12 an hour, you know that your slope is 12 because his total pay will be the $12 multiplied by the number of hours he worked.

Add the $5 daily bonus Bobby makes, which is your y-intercept in this equation.

Total = $12(hours) + $5

2. Find his total pay for 5 hours using the above equation:

$65 

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors