In order to know which plan(s) Hannah can afford, we will need to find the total cost of each plan. Since Hannah is buying gifts for three people — Mary, Jared and Michael — each total will be the sum of three prices.
Same Gifts
One possibility is that Hannah will buy three of the same gifts, each costing $22. We can calculate the total cost of this plan by adding 22 three times.
22+22+22=$66
For Hannah to be able to afford a plan, she must be able to spend that much money. It is given that she can spend a total of $75, so Hannah cannot exceed this amount. Because $66 is less than her total budget of $75, we know that Hannah can afford the first plan.
Different Gifts
Another possibility is Hannah buying three different gifts each of its own price for her friends. We can find the total cost of this plan by adding these three given prices.
29. 26+23.99+23. 74
Note that the numbers of cents of the first and third prices add up to 100. Therefore, we can use the Commutative and Associative Properties of Addition to make the addition easier.
Because $76.99 is greater than her total budget of $75, this total cost is more than what Hannah is able to spend. Therefore, she cannot afford her second plan, and can only afford the first.
