Calculate the cost of manufacturing a standard cereal box if cardboard costs $0.05 per square inch. volume=135in^3 surface area= 174

The volume of the box in this problem doesn't really matter, considering that a cereal box is hollow. Assuming the surface area is 174 inches², then you can simply multiply 0.05 x 174, which is 8.7. Then put that number in the form of money to get $8.70. (seems a bit pricey for one cereal box to me ;P)