Here's why:
* Multiplication needs two numbers: To use multiplication, you need to know how many people there are.
* "Per person" means division: The phrase "200 comic books per person" implies that you've already divided the total number of comic books by the number of people.
Here's an example:
Let's say there are 5 people. To check if 200 comic books per person is correct, you'd do this:
1. Multiply the number of comic books per person by the number of people: 200 comic books/person * 5 people = 1000 comic books.
2. Compare this to the total number of comic books: If you started with 1000 comic books, then 200 comic books per person is correct.
To use multiplication to check your answer, you need to know the total number of comic books.