Question

What is $25.14 divided by $8.38?

Answer 1

`$25.14 -:$8.38 = 3`

Explanation:

`color(blue)("Introduction: it is really worth a read!")`

You probably did not think of things this way before but the symbol $ is actually a unit of measurement.

When applying mathematical processes, the units of measurement they may be treated in the same way that the number are.

In other words they can cancel out.

So `($25.14)/($8.38)` is the equivalent of `(cancel($))/(cancel($))xx25.14/8.38`

In other words the answer is just a number with no units of measurement.

Also the answer to `25.14/8.38` is the same as `(25.14xx10)/(8.38xx10)=2514/838`

So you can do the calculation without considering the decimal point. Does not always work out that way.
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`color(blue)("Answering the question")`

Note that

`2xx8=16 larr" too small"`
`3xx8=24 larr" getting closer"`
`4xx8=32 larr" too big"`

Try

`838`
`ul(color(white)(83)3) larr" multiply"`
`2514 larr" an exact match"`

`$25.14 -:$8.38 = 3`