Final answer:
To buy beef for a family of 5, multiply the price per pound by the total pounds needed, which is 2.5 pounds. The total cost is $14.97.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the cost of buying beef for a family of 5, we need to multiply the price per pound by the total pounds needed. Each person gets 1/2 pound of beef, so for 5 people, we need a total of 2.5 pounds (5 people * 1/2 pound per person = 2.5 pounds).
Given that the beef costs $5.99 per pound, we can calculate the total cost by multiplying the weight by the price: 2.5 pounds * $5.99 per pound = $14.97.