Question. Wally buys bears at the park. A bear is priced at $4.00 for the first bear and a discount of 50 cents per bear is given after that. How much does Wally pay for 101 bears?
Answer. 354
What step-by-step reasoning justifies that answer?
Reasoning: If the price of an additional bear drops by fifty after the first purchase, the price of each additional bear is $4.00 - $0.50 = $3.50. Since Wally bought 101 bears, he was charged fifty cents less on 101 - 1 = 100 bears. The total cost for the 100 bears is 100 * $3.50 = $350. For the 101 bears, Wally paid a total of $350 + $4 = $354.