A large 16 oz box of rice is on sale for $1.89. An economy size 36 oz box costs $4.39 which is better buy?

Question

Show work  so set up both and see which is the better offer. The economy or the larger box 

Answer 1

Glad you are learning this!  Because people could not "do the math," stores are requires to post unit prices for products so shoppers can compare them.  First, a story:

Years ago, I often bought a 6-brownie box of Little Debbie's for $1.09 when shopping.  One day, near the store entrance, was a rotating rack of Little Debbie products on "Special" with a 12-brownie double-pack for $2.50.  Now, who in their right mind would buy that!!

 

O.K.,

     large                  or         economy   ?

   $1.89/(16 oz)        or        $4.39/(36 oz)    ?

      11.8 cents/oz      or        12.2 cents/oz    ?

       11.8 cents/oz

Answer 2

16 oz for $1.89                 divide both by 16

1 oz for $0.118125

 

36 oz for $4.39                 divide both by 36

1 oz for $0.12194

 

The 16 oz box is a better value.

Answer 3

Hi Ellie, 

To compare these two offers, we must first have the two boxes equal the same amount of ounces:

We need to compare 16oz:$1.89 vs. 36oz:$4.39 

Since we have 16 ounces and 36 ounces, we can reduce both to 4 ounces:

Ratio 1: 16oz/4:$1.89/4    Divide the ratio by 4

Ratio 2: 36oz/9:$4.39/9   Divide the ratio by 9

Now we have 4oz:$0.04725 vs. 4oz/$0.487

∴The better offer is $0.4725 for every ounce, meaning 16oz for $1.89.

Best, 

Star