A small business lost $6200 in its first year, lost $2150 in its second year, and earned $4780 in its third year. Overall, in the 3-year period, how much did the business earn or lose?
Is this the correct expression?
[(6200 – 365) + ( 2150 – 730) + (4780 + 1095)]
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
To calculate the overall earnings or loss of the business over the 3-year period, we need to follow these steps:
Step 1: Understand the Business’s Financial Results
- First year: The business lost $6200.
- Second year: The business lost $2150.
- Third year: The business earned $4780.
Step 2: Calculate the Overall Total
To find out how much the business earned or lost over the 3 years, we need to add up the results of each year:
- Year 1: The business lost $6200, so this is a negative value: -6200.
- Year 2: The business lost $2150, so this is also a negative value: -2150.
- Year 3: The business earned $4780, so this is a positive value: +4780.
Now, we add these three values:
[
-6200 + (-2150) + 4780
]
[
-6200 – 2150 + 4780 = -10700 + 4780 = -5920
]
So, the total loss over the 3 years is $5920.
Step 3: Evaluate the Given Expression
The provided expression is:
[
[(6200 – 365) + (2150 – 730) + (4780 + 1095)]
]
Let’s break it down:
- (6200 – 365): This equals $5835, but this is not how we should approach the problem. The loss in the first year is $6200, and there’s no need for subtraction here.
- (2150 – 730): This equals $1420, which is not correct either. The loss in the second year is $2150, and no additional adjustments are needed.
- (4780 + 1095): This equals $5875, but the business earned $4780, so this additional amount is incorrect.
Thus, the expression provided does not correctly represent the situation and contains unnecessary adjustments.
Final Answer:
The business lost a total of $5920 over the 3 years.