Business Math
Assignment
Press F5 to begin to playing
this slide show.
Why are we doing this assignment?
It is important that we review some basic
math principles before we start doing
formulas in Excel spreadsheets. This
assignment will review the math and business
concepts you will need to know to complete
the rest of the spreadsheet assignments we
will do in class.
Reach each slide carefully and do the
examples on the handout as you play this
slide show.
Symbols for math operations

The symbols we will use for this
assignment (and in Excel) to perform
math operations are:

+ for addition

- for subtraction

* for multiplication

/ for division
1. Order of Operations
Formulas in Excel follow the regular order
of operations.
 Order of operations refers to the order
which operations in a mathematical
formula should be performed.
 Here is the order:




You should always perform the operations in
parentheses ( ) first, left to right
Then do multiplication and division, left to
right
Then do addition and subtraction, left to right
Example

To solve the problem 3*3 + (15-5) /2 -2



First solve 15-5 because it is in parentheses –
so we now have 3*3+10/2-2
Next we will do the multiplication and division,
so we now have 9+5-2
Now we can do the addition and subtraction
and our final answer is 12
More Order of Operations Examples

Do the three examples on your handout
and write the correct answers on your
handout:



2 + 7 * 8 / 2 – 10 =
10 – (24+9) * 2 =
120 / 3 + 20 * 2 – 5 =
Answers

The correct answers for the examples are:



20
-56
75
2. Average

To find the average of a group of numbers,
add the numbers together and then divide
by the number of items in the group.

To find the average of these numbers
8, 12, 3, 10, 5, 4
Add the numbers together which equals 42
There are 6 numbers so we will divide 42 by
6 and the average of these 6 numbers is 7
Examples

Do the two examples on your handout and
write the correct answers on your
handout:


Find the average of $36, $49, $22, $48, $39,
$40, and $18
Find the average of 3.2, 4.2, 9.25, 5, 7.1, 9.8,
and 12.4:
Answers

The correct answers for the examples are:


36
7.28
3. Percent
To find a percentage of a number, write
the percent as a decimal then multiply the
number by the decimal.
 To find out 35% of 90




Convert the percent to a decimal which is .35
Then multiply .35*90
31.5 is 35% of 90
Examples

Do the three examples on your handout
and write the correct answers on your
handout:



25% of 384
21% of 54
85% of 400
Answers

The correct answers for the examples are:



96
11.34
340
4. Payroll
Payroll is determining how much an
employer is to pay his employees for the
work they have done.
 A person who is paid by the hour works
for an hourly rate which is a certain
amount of money for each hour that is
worked. The total amount of money that
an employee is paid is called GROSS PAY.

4. Payroll
To calculate gross pay, multiply the hourly
rate by the number of hours worked :
Hourly Rate * Hours Worked
 If you have a job and your hourly rate is
$7.55 and you work 25 hours in one week
your gross pay would equal:
7.55*25 = $188.75
Your GROSS PAY is $188.75

Examples

Do the two examples on your handout and
write the correct answers on your
handout:


Cassie earns $16.25 an hour. What is her
gross pay for last week if she worked 25
hours?
Mark is paid $9.10 an hour. He worked 38
hours last week. What is his gross pay?
Answers

The correct answers for the examples are:


$406.25
$345.80
4. Payroll continued

DEDUCTIONS are subtractions from
gross pay. The federal government as
well as states require employers to deduct
money from employee wages for income
taxes, social security, and Medicare taxes.
The amount of money withheld or
deducted depends on the gross pay and
the number of dependents (spouse and
children) the employee has. Deductions
for taxes are usually about 30% of the
amount of gross pay.
4. Payroll continued
To calculate deductions for this
assignment you will multiply the gross pay
by 30%:
Gross Pay * .30
 If your gross pay is $188.75, the total
amount that would be deducted from your
paycheck would be:
188.75 * .30 = $56.63
Your total deductions would be $56.63

Examples

Do the two examples on your handout and
write the correct answers on your
handout:


Based on Cassie’s gross pay above,
approximately what amount will be deducted
for taxes:
Based on Mark’s gross pay above,
approximately what amount will be deducted
for taxes:
Answers

The correct answers for the examples are:


$121.88
$103.74
4. Payroll continued

After all deductions are subtracted from
gross pay, the amount that remains is
called NET PAY. Net pay is the actual
amount the employee will be paid on their
paycheck.
4. Payroll continued
To calculate net pay, you subtract the
total amount of deductions from gross
pay:
Gross Pay – Deductions
 If your gross pay is $188.75 and your
deductions are $56.64 your net pay would
be:
188.75 – 56.63 = 132.12
Your net pay would be $132.12

Examples

Do the two examples on your handout and
write the correct answers on your
handout:


What is Cassie’s net pay?
What is Mark’s net pay?
Answers

The correct answers for the examples are:


$284.37
$242.06
5. Sales Tax
In most states, when you purchase items
from a store, you pay the price of the item
plus SALES TAX.
 Sales tax is a percentage of the total cost
of the items you purchase. In Utah, the
sales tax rate is 6.6% or .066.

5. Sales Tax continued
To calculate sales tax you will multiply the
purchase amount by the tax rate:
Purchase Amount * Tax Rate
 If you purchase items that total $25 in
Utah the amount of sales tax you will pay
is:
25 * .066 = 1.65
Your amount of sales tax would be $1.65

5. Sales Tax continued
To find the total amount you will pay for
the items you add the purchase amount to
the amount of sales tax:
Purchase Amount + Amount of Sales Tax
 If the purchase amount is $25 and the
amount of sales tax is $1.65 the total
amount you would pay is:
25 + 1.65 = 26.65
The total amount would be $26.65

Examples

Do the two examples on your handout and
write the correct answers on your handout
(use .066 for the tax rate):


A customer buys items with a total purchase
price of $72. What is the amount they will pay
for these items with sales tax?
A customer buys items with a total purchase
price of $37. What is the amount they will pay
for these items with sales tax?
Answers

The correct answers for the examples are:


$76.75
$39.44
This is the end of the slide show. Now
complete the problems on the handout.
You may use a calculator – you can use
your own calculator or the calculator on
your computer (START button, All
Programs, Accessories). You can close
this slide show and finish the
assignment.