The Mathematics of Money

Copyright © 2008, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

16. A sign in a Singapore hotel states “Exchange for Australian currency 25%.” Does this mean that A$1
    S$1.25, or that
    S$1
    A$1.25?

F. Grab Bag

17. A collector in the U.K. buys a collectible stuffed animal online for $75.38, charging the purchase to her credit card.
    Convert the price into British pounds.


18. While on vacation in Zurich, Devon stayed at a hotel for which his total bill was SFr 1,093.75 (Swiss francs.) How much
    is this in U.S. dollars?


19. As a sales promotion, a car dealer offers to give away 1 million South Korean won to a randomly selected customer.
    What would the value of this prize be in U.S. dollars?


20. Glenys lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. She bought several books over the Internet from a book shop in Barcelona,
    Spain, for €175.93 (euros). Convert this cost into New Zealand dollars.


21. A family from Djakarta is thinking about vacationing in Cabo San Lucas. The price of a vacation house rental is quoted
    as 25,000 Mexican pesos. Convert this cost into Indonesian rupiah.


22. A wine importer purchased a large shipment of South African wines for 837,250 rand. What was the cost in U.S. dollars?


23. The hit song “If I Had a Million Dollars” refl ects the fact that “a million dollars” is thought of as the “magic number”
    for being rich. However, since the band responsible for this hit, the Barenaked Ladies, is Canadian, we can assume they
    meant 1 million Canadian dollars. For American audiences the song could be retitled “If I Had $900,300” (using the
    rates from the table in this section).

Many different countries call their currency a “dollar”. What is the value, in U.S. dollars, of “a million dollars” if the

dollars in question are from:

a. New Zealand

b. Australia

c. Taiwan

d. Hong Kong

e. Singapore

24. Some countries have unique names for their currencies (such as the Hungarian “forint”, Malaysian “ringgit”, or Israeli
    “shekel”), but other currency names, such as “dollar”, “lira”, “rupee”, and “pound” are shared by different countries.
    Even if the names are the same, though, the currencies are not necessarily connected in any way.

One widely used name for a currency is the “peso.” Convert 12,500 Argentinean pesos into each of the following

currencies:

a. Chilean pesos

b. Colombian pesos

Exercises 11.1 481