2014-05-26 09:00:53

For a Memorial Day party, Milton has invited 17 guests. He plans on having enough hamburgers and buns to feed everyone at the party, including himself, two burgers (with each burger consisting of one bun and one hamburger patty). Pre-made hamburger patties come in packs of six, and hamburger buns come in packs of 8. If hamburger patty packs cost $4 and bun packages cost $2.50, and if Milton can only buy full packs of patties and buns, what is the total amount of money Milton needs to spend on hamburgers and buns?

(A) $32
(B) $32.50
(C) $35
(D) $36
(E) $36.50

The correct answer is choice E.
Explanation: Start by calculating the number of burgers he will need to serve. There are 18 people at the party (including Milton), and each one will have two burgers. Thus, Milton needs 36 completed burgers, meaning he needs 36 patties and 36 buns. Next, figure out how many packages of burgers and buns he needs. Patties are in packs of 6, and since he needs 36 patties, Milton needs 6 packages of patties (as 36/6 is 6). Buns come in packs of 8, and since Milton needs 36 buns, he needs 4.5 packages of buns (since 36/8 is 4.5). Milton  cannot buy a half pack of buns, so he will need 5 packs of buns.

Next, apply the prices to these purchases. 6 packs of patties at $4 a pack will cost Milton $24. 5 packs of buns at $2.50 a pack will cost Milton $12.50. Thus, in total, he will need to spend $24 + $12.50, or $36.50 on patties and buns. Thus, E is correct.