A business owner needs to hire a cleaning service for the office. The cleaning company charges $250 for 5 rooms. The office has 12 rooms. An employee did the following math to determine the total cost to clean the office.
Step 1: $250 ÷ 5 rooms = $50 per room
Step 2: $50 × 12 rooms + $250 = $850
The total cost to clean the office is $850.
What was the employee’s error?
Step 1 should have been 5 rooms ÷ $250 = 0.02 rooms per $1.00.
Step 1 should have been $250 – 5 rooms = $245 per room.
Step 1 should have been $250 × 5 rooms = $1,250 per room.
Step 2 should have been $50 × 12 rooms = $600.
Step 2 should have been $50 + $250 = $300.