Question

Jean spent $37.50 for 500 paperclips. How much did he pay for each paperclip?

Answer 1

`$0.075 = 7.5c = 7 1/2c`

Explanation:

This is the type of question many students get wrong, because they don't like the idea of dividing something 'small' by something 'big'.

The units will help ... you want to know "$ per paperclip", or in this case, "cents per paperclip" will make more sense.

Divide the money by the number of paperclips, to find the price one ONE paperclip.

`37.50 div 500` does not feel comfortable, it gives `$0.075`

But if you work with cents, it is easier to visualise.

`3,750 div 500 = 7.5c`

It is probably not possible to actually pay `7 1/2` cents, but you would not be likely to buy only ONE paperclip.

However, for costing for a business, you might need to know this.