Basic Mathematics for College Students

346 Chapter 4 Decimals

SolutionWe write the multiplication in vertical form, with 5.1 under 234.

Move 1 place from the right to the left and

insert a decimal point in the answer.

Thus,234(5.1)1,193.4.

The answer will have

v 0  1 1 decimal place.

No decimal places

1 decimal place

234

 5.1

23 4

1170 0

1193.4

Using Your CALCULATOR Multiplying Decimals

When billing a household, a gas company converts the amount of natural gas

used to units of heat energy called therms.The number of therms used by a

household in one month and the cost per therm are shown below.

Customer charge ..................................39 therms @ $0.72264

To find the total charges for the month, we multiply the number of therms by

the cost per therm: 39 0.72264.

39 .72264 28.18296

On some calculator models, the key is pressed to display the product.

Rounding to the nearest cent, we see that the total charge is $28.18.

ENTER

  28.18296

“Employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act must receive overtime pay for

hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek of at least 1.5 times their regular rates

of pay.”

United States Department of Labor

The map of the United States shown below is divided into nine regions. The

average hourly wage for private industry workers in each region is also listed

in the legend below the map. Find the average hourly wage for the region

where you live. Then calculate the corresponding average hourly overtime

wage for that region.

THINK IT THROUGH Overtime

East South Central: $16.58

East North Central: $18.82

West North Central: $17.42

Mountain: $17.93

Pacific: $21.68

New England: $22.38

Middle Atlantic: $21.31

South Atlantic: $18.34

West South Central: $17.17

(Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, 2008)

Legend