Mr. James goes into an investment with two partners. Together the three of them put a total of \(\ $30,000\) into an investment that pays annual interest of 12%. At the end of the year, the three people share the interest evenly. How much did Mr. James receive in interest?
Explanation
The word “always” means multiply. To find 12% of \(\$30,000\), we could write it in two ways: \(\frac{12}{100} \times 30,000\) or \(0.12 \times 30,000\). You don't need to know what this number is, just know that it represents the entire amount of interest. The problem is asking for only Mr. James' share. Because all three investors share the interest evenly, you have to divide the entire amount by 3.