Which shows a correct order to solve this story problem? Kent and Curtis went to the state fair. They had to pay a total of $7.18 sales tax on everything they bought. They spent $22.50 for each admission ticket and $35.50 altogether for food. They split all the costs evenly. How much did each boy pay? A. Step 1: Calculate the price of 2 admission tickets. Step 2: Add that amount to the amount spent on food and the tax. Step 3: Divide by 2. B. Step 1: Double the amount for 1 admission ticket. Step 2: Take half of the amount spent on food and add the total from Step 1 plus the tax. Step 3: Divide by 2. C. Step 1: Add $22.50 and $35.50. Step 2: Divide the total by 2. Step 3: Add the amount of the tax.

The problem is asking how much each person will need to pay. Simplifying the problem into an equation with variables (an algorithm) will greatly help you solve it:

S = Sales Tax = $ 7.18 per any purchase
A = Admission Ticket = $ 22.50 entry price for one person (no tax applied)
F = Food = $ 35.50 purchases for two people

We know the cost for one person was: (22.50) + [(35.50/2) + 7.18] =
$ 47.43 per person. Now we can check each method and see which one is the correct algorithm:

Method A)
[2A + (F + 2S)] / 2 = [ (2)(22.50) + [35.50 + (2)(7.18)] ]/ 2 = $47.43
Method A is the correct answer

Method B)
[(2A + (1/2)F + 2S) /2 = [(2)(22.50) + 35.50(1/2) + (2)7.18] / 2 = $38.55
Wrong answer. This method is incorrect because the tax for both tickets bought are not being used in the equation.

Method C)
[(A + F) / 2 ]+ S = [(22.50 + 35.50) / 2 ] + 7.18 = $35.93
Wrong answer. Incorrect Method. The food cost is being reduced to the cost of one person but admission price is set for two people.