Arithmetic

A company bought New Year's greeting cards to send to its valued customers. Fifty of the cards they sent cost $2.35 each. Thirty-nine of the cards cost $2.85 each. The remaining 25 cards cost $1.95 each. What was the total amount spent on these cards?

Step-by-step solution with explanation

Final Answer

The total amount spent on greeting cards was 277.40$.

Step-by-step solution

Find cost of the 50 cards

117.50$

Multiply the number of cards by the price per card. This gives us the total spent on the first group of cards.

Find cost of the 39 cards

111.15$

Multiply 39 by $2.85 to get the total for the second group. We handle each group separately before adding them all together.

Find cost of the 25 cards

48.75$

Multiply 25 by $1.95 to get the total for the third and final group of cards.

Add all three totals together

277.40$

Now we combine the cost from all three groups. Adding all three amounts gives us the grand total spent on greeting cards.

Understanding this problem

Learning Insight

This problem uses the distributive idea of multiplication — when items are split into groups with different prices, you find the cost of each group separately and then add. This keeps big problems organized and avoids errors from mixing different prices together.

Quick Tip

Line up your decimal points when adding money amounts. It helps to write each total one under the other so dollars line up with dollars and cents line up with cents.

Common Mistake

Students often add all the card quantities first (50+39+25=114) and then try to pick one price to multiply by, which doesn't work when each group has a different price. Always multiply each group's count by its own price before adding.