Sarah C. answered • 02/06/15
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Experienced Math Tutor, Special Education Teacher, Registered Nurse
Christie--
This is one big conversion problem. The key in doing conversions is to include the unit and to work in steps.
1. Use the number of capsules taken each day and the number of milligrams in each to determine the total number of milligrams of fish oil consumed in one day.
(2 capsules/1day)(780 mg/1 capsule) = 1,560 mg/day
**Write this out with the multiplication vertically if you need to "see" how the units cancel out. Remember, units cancel out the same way that numbers do.
2. Take the number of milligrams consumed in one day and multiply it by the number of days. There are 31 days in January.
(1,560 mg/1 day)(31 days) = 48,360 milligrams
3. Now you know the total amount of fish oil consumed in 31 days. However, your answer is in milligrams. You must convert from milligrams to grams. Use the conversion factor with milligrams in the denominator so the milligrams units cancel and you are left with grams.
(48,360 mg)(1 gram/1000 mg)= 48.36 grams
Jason will consume 48.36 grams of fish oil in January if he takes two 780-mg fish oil capsules a day.
Sarah C.
You are most welcome! Feel free to reach out to me any time with questions.
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02/06/15
Christie G.
Hey Sarah could you please see if i figured this word problem right.
Mary wants to buy some Breathe Right nasal strips but she wants to get the best deal. They are sold in four package sizes: 12 for 6.50; 24 for 7.50; 30 for 8.95; and 38 for 9.95. She has a 2.00 dollar off coupon for the 12 strip size and a 1.00 coupon
for the 30 strip size. Which one is the best buy
this is how i figured it out.
first i figured out the cost of each box :
12 strips= $6.50
- $2.00 coupon
= $4.50
24 strips = 7.50
30 strips = $8.95
$ 1.00 coupon
= $7.95
38 strips= $9.95
Then I divided the amount of the strips to come up with the price per strip:
12 strips = $ 4.50 divided by 12 = 0.375 rounded would be 38 cents for each strip
24 strips = $7.50 divided by 24 = 0.3125 rounded would be 31 cents per strip
30 strips = $7.95 divided by 30 =0.265 rounded would be 27 cents per strip
38 strips = $9.95 divided by 38 = 0.261.... rounded would be 26 cents per strip
So the best deal would be the 38 strip box.
Is the right ?
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02/07/15
Sarah C.
Great job, Christie! I would agree with the way you set up and solved the problem. You have the correct answer.
One thing to keep in mind when you are rounding is whether or not rounding down makes sense. Assume the cost of something is $0.264. Because the 5 is less than 5, you would be tempted to round down. But then, if you had to pay for the item with $0.26 you
would not have enough. So in terms of money, we often tend to round up. Does it make sense why we would do that? In this case, rounding up would give you two items with the same price per unit. Then you would need to look at the raw (not rounded) value to
compare. Your answer would not change. I just wanted to bring that up for future reference.
Sarah
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02/07/15
Christie G.
Yes I see what your saying about the rounding, that does make sense. Thank you so much for all your advice and help. I am a student and I struggle so much in my math.
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02/07/15
Sarah C.
Math is challenging for many of us (myself included). I am glad to see you are using these boards for help. Often times, multiple tutors will respond to a single question. That can be very helpful, as each of us might have a different approach. You
can choose the one that makes most sense to you and roll with it.
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02/07/15
Christie G.
02/06/15