Idea 7of 23Builds onEstimate to check a unit price
Compare the price for one
How do you compare two packs of different sizes?
Today you'll discover
- why totals mislead
- how unit prices make it fair
- how to name the better value
Think first6 for $9.00, or 10 for $13.00
Juice boxes: 6 for $9.00, or 10 for $13.00. Which costs less per box?
Decide first, then press Next. Compare the price for one box, not the totals.
Two packs of juice boxes on a shelf: 6 for $9.00 and 10 for $13.00. Bars under the tags are cut into 6 and 10 equal parts. Then $9.00 ÷ 6 = $1.50 and $13.00 ÷ 10 = $1.30 fill the tags. Along the bottom, two bars as long as $1.50 and $1.30, the shorter one ticked: less per juice box. The last step asks about 4 notebooks for $7.00 or 6 for $9.90.
See the whole ideathe big idea and the key word, in one place
The big idea
Compare unit prices, not totals: the lower price for one is the better value.
Total or each?
The 6-pack has the smaller total, $9.00. The 10-pack has the smaller price for each box, $1.30.
- 6-pack$1.50 each
- 10-pack$1.30 each
Easy to get wrongA smaller total is not a lower price. It may just be a smaller pack.
Key word
- better value
- the choice that gives you more for your money: here, the lower price for one
Ready to use it?
- Compare two packs by their unit prices.
- Name the pack with the better value per item.