Question: 1. Carla works full-time and gets paid ₱48,500 semi-monthly. Determine her gross annual earnings.
1. **State the problem:** Carla earns 48,500 semi-monthly, and we need to find her gross annual earnings.
2. **Formula:** Gross annual earnings = Semi-monthly pay \( \times \) Number of semi-monthly periods in a year.
3. **Important rule:** There are 12 months in a year, so the number of semi-monthly periods is \(12 \times 2 = 24\).
4. **Calculation:**
$$\text{Gross annual earnings} = 48,500 \times 24$$
5. **Intermediate step:**
$$48,500 \times 24 = 48,500 \times (20 + 4) = 48,500 \times 20 + 48,500 \times 4$$
$$= 970,000 + 194,000 = 1,164,000$$
6. **Answer:** Carla's gross annual earnings are \(1,164,000\).