A homemade lip balm consists of coconut oil and beeswax. Coconut oil costs $0.50 per ounce and beeswax costs $2.00 per ounce. If 6 ounces of coconut oil and 5 ounces of beeswax are used to create the lip balm mixture, which values represent a and b in the table?
| | Ounces | Price per Ounce | Total cost |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Coconut Oil | 6 | $0.50 | a |
| Beeswax | 5 | $2.00 | b |
| Mixture | 11 | | |
a=$
b=$
Answer (1)
Calculate the total cost of coconut oil: a = 6 × $0.50 = $3.00 .
Calculate the total cost of beeswax: b = 5 × $2.00 = $10.00 .
The value of a is $3.00 .
The value of b is $10.00 . Therefore, the final answer is $3.00 and $10.00
Explanation
Problem Analysis We are given a problem where we need to calculate the total cost of coconut oil and beeswax used in a lip balm mixture. We know the quantity of each ingredient in ounces and the price per ounce. We need to find the total cost for each.
Calculating cost of coconut oil To find the total cost of the coconut oil, we multiply the number of ounces of coconut oil by the price per ounce. The calculation is: a = 6 ounces × $0.50 per ounce = $3.00 So, the total cost of the coconut oil is $3.00 .
Calculating cost of beeswax To find the total cost of the beeswax, we multiply the number of ounces of beeswax by the price per ounce. The calculation is: b = 5 ounces × $2.00 per ounce = $10.00 So, the total cost of the beeswax is $10.00 .
Final Answer Therefore, the values for a and b in the table are $3.00 and $10.00 , respectively.
Examples
Imagine you're baking a cake and need to calculate the cost of ingredients. If flour costs $0.40 per ounce and you use 10 ounces, the total cost for flour is $0.40 \times 10 = $4. Similarly, if sugar costs $0.25 per ounce and you use 8 ounces, the total cost for sugar is $0.25 \times 8 = $2. Knowing how to calculate these costs helps you manage your budget and understand the expenses involved in baking or any other activity involving multiple ingredients.
