Question

solve. During one difficult year, the Morrisons had insufficient funds in their checking account on seven occasions, and each time they were assessed a charge appearing as \(-\$ 17\) on their statement. What were the total charges for insufficient funds that year?

Short answer

Answer: -$119

Step-by-step solution

Find the total charges without considering the negative sign

We need to multiply the number of occasions (7) by the charge amount ($17) to find the total charges. To do this, we can use the following equation: Total charges (without considering the negative sign) = Number of occasions * Charge amount

Multiply the number of occasions by the charge amount

Now, just multiply the number of occasions (7) by the charge amount ($17): Total charges (without considering the negative sign) = 7 * 17 Total charges (without considering the negative sign) = 119

Make the result negative

Since the charges are negative, we need to make sure our result is negative. So the final result is: Total charges for insufficient funds = -119 The total charges for insufficient funds that year are \(\boxed{-\$119}\).

Key concepts

Negative Numbers

Understanding negative numbers is crucial when dealing with financial transactions, such as the insufficient funds charges that the Morrisons faced. A negative number represents a value less than zero and is often used to denote a loss or deficit. In the context of a bank account, negative amounts typically indicate money that has been taken out or charged, rather than deposited.

When we see a transaction listed as \( -\$17 \) on a bank statement, it means that \(17 was deducted from the account. If this event happens multiple times, we accumulate these negative amounts. It's important to keep track of the signs; in arithmetic, adding a negative number is the same as subtracting its positive counterpart. Therefore, if the Morrisons are charged \( -\$17 \) seven times, each transaction contributes to an overall decrease in their account balance.

Multiplication

Multiplication is a basic arithmetic operation that combines groups of equal sizes into a total amount. In the exercise involving the Morrisons' bank account, they were assessed the same charge of \( -\$17 \) multiple times. Multiplication allows us to efficiently calculate the total impact of these repeated charges.

To determine the accumulation of charges, we multiply the charge amount \(\$17\) by the number of times it occurred \(7\). This is expressed as \(7 \times 17\). Multiplication is commutative, meaning the order of the numbers does not change the result. Therefore, \(7 \times 17\) yields the same outcome as \(17 \times 7\). Remember to eventually consider the negative sign associated with charges, as it signifies the direction in which the account balance is affected.

Basic Arithmetic

Basic arithmetic encompasses addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These operations form the foundation of more complex mathematical concepts. In our example, we apply multiplication first to find the total charge amount before considering its negative impact on the bank account.

Once the multiplication is done, we obtain a result of 119. However, it's essential to reintroduce the negative sign, which transforms our answer to \( -119 \) to reflect the actual situation. This negative result signifies, in real-world terms, that the Morrisons' bank account balance decreased by \)119 over the course of the year due to the seven separate insufficient funds charges.