A woman needs to buy 16 oz of butter for a dessert recipe. She can either buy a single 16 oz package of the store-brand butter for $7, or she can buy an 8oz package of store butter for $4 and use a coupon to get an additional two 4 oz packages that normally sell for $2.0 each at a 50% discount (which is applied to each 4oz package separately). What is the lowest price she can pay for the 16 oz of butter she needs? Let's answer step by step:
If she uses the coupon, she will pay 2 * 0.5 = $1 for each 4oz package. Thus, she will pay 4 + 2 * 1 = $6 in total for the 8oz package and the two 4oz packages she needs to reach 16 oz of butter when using the coupon. Therefore, the lowest amount she can pay is $6, as this is cheaper than the $7 price for a 16 oz package. The answer: 6.