Problem:
An American traveling in Italy wishes to exchange American money (dollars) for Italian money (lire). If 3000 lire =$1.60, how many lire will the traveler receive in exchange for $1.00?
Answer Choices:
A. 180
B. 480
C. 1800
D. 1875
E. 4875
Solution:
$1.00=$1.00×$1.603000 lire =1875 lire.
OR
$1.60$1.00=85, so $1.00 is 85 of $1.60. Thus, the number of lire is 85 of 3000 or 1875 lire.
OR
Use the proportion 160 cents 3000 lire =100 cents x lire . Solving for x gives 1875 lire.
Answer: D.
The problems on this page are the property of the MAA's American Mathematics Competitions