To calculate the total cost of a purchase, get the cost of one item.
This is called the unit price. Multiply the unit price by the
quantity of that item. Do the same thing with each type of item, and
add all of the results together.
For example, an apple costs $1.00, an orange costs $1.50, and a candy
bar costs $2.00. You are buying 2 apples, 3 oranges, and 5 candy bars.
To calculate the total cost, do the following:
apples = $1.00 × 2 = $2.00
oranges = $1.50 × 3 = $4.50
candy bars = $2.00 × 5 = $10.00
total cost = $16.50
Unit price can also refer to the cost of one unit of measurement for an
item. Fruits are often priced per pound instead of per fruit. For
example, bananas cost $0.50 per pound. You are buying 6 bananas that
weigh a total of 2 pounds. To calculate the total cost, do the
following:
total cost = $0.50 × 2 = $1.00