Last week, Mario tracked his spending, but did not keep a perfect record of where his money went. Fortunately, Mario does have all but one of his receipts. He enters all of the information he has into his expense spreadsheet as shown below.
| | A | B |
|---|---------------|----------|
| 1 | Transaction | Amount |
| 2 | Oil change | $18.95 |
| 3 | Gas in car | $20.50 |
| 4 | Lunch out | $12.68 |
| 5 | Golfing | |
| 6 | Total Spent | $87.33 |
How much did Mario spend on golfing?
A. $35.20
B. $45.20
C. $47.88
D. $143.96
Answer (1)
Add the known expenses: $18.95 + $20.50 + $12.68 = $52.13 .
Subtract the sum of known expenses from the total: $87.33 − $52.13 = $35.20 .
Mario spent $35.20 on golfing.
Explanation
Understanding the Problem We are given a table of Mario's expenses, which include an oil change, gas, lunch, and golfing. We know the cost of each expense except for golfing, and we know the total amount Mario spent. Our goal is to find the amount Mario spent on golfing.
Setting up the Equation Let's denote the amount spent on golfing as x . The total amount spent is the sum of all expenses. We can write the equation:
$18.95 + $20.50 + $12.68 + x = $87.33
Calculating Known Expenses Now, we need to solve for x . First, let's add up the known expenses:
$18.95 + $20.50 + $12.68 = $52.13
Finding the Golfing Amount Now, subtract the sum of the known expenses from the total amount spent to find the amount spent on golfing:
x = $87.33 − $52.13 = $35.20
Final Answer Therefore, Mario spent $35.20 on golfing.
Examples
Imagine you are planning a budget for a weekend trip. You know the costs of transportation, accommodation, and food, but you need to determine how much you can spend on entertainment to stay within your budget. This problem is similar to Mario's situation, where you need to calculate the remaining amount for one category (entertainment) after accounting for the other known expenses. By using basic arithmetic, you can effectively manage your budget and make informed spending decisions.
