The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is $119.71.
To solve this problem, we need to determine the cost per person when a total expense is shared equally among a group. The word problem provides two essential pieces of information: the total cost of the supplies and the number of friends sharing that cost. The total amount spent on food, water, and other items for the camping trip is $957.64. The number of friends who agreed to share this cost equally is eight.
The key phrase in the problem is “share the total cost equally.” This indicates that the required mathematical operation is division. We must divide the total cost by the number of people to find the amount each individual person owes. The formula for this calculation is:
Total Cost ÷ Number of People = Cost Per Person
By substituting the given values into this formula, we get the following equation:
$957.64 ÷ 8
When we perform this division, the initial mathematical result is 119.705. However, since the answer represents an amount of money, it must be expressed in dollars and cents. Standard currency is formatted to two decimal places. Therefore, we need to round the result to the nearest cent.
To round 119.705 to two decimal places, we look at the third digit after the decimal point, which is 5. The standard rule of rounding states that if the digit being examined is 5 or greater, we round up the preceding digit. In this case, the preceding digit is 0 (in the hundredths place). Rounding it up changes it to 1. Consequently, the rounded value becomes $119.71.
This final figure represents the precise amount each of the eight friends must contribute to cover the total camping expenses. By each paying $119.71, they will have collectively paid the full amount spent on their supplies, fulfilling their agreement to split the costs evenly.
