A store owner sells 1/8 illustration board for ₱12. If a customer buys 4 pieces of it, he or she receives another 1/8 illustration board for free. Mike bought from the store. He was able to bring home 5 whole illustration boards including the free piece. How much did Mike spend?

To determine how much Mike spent, we need to calculate the cost of the 5 whole illustration boards including the free piece.

Each whole illustration board is composed of 8 pieces, and initially, the store owner sells 1/8 illustration board for ₱12.

Let's break down the situation step-by-step:

1. The customer buys 4 pieces of 1/8 illustration board. Since the cost of 1/8 board is ₱12, the cost of 4 pieces would be:
4 * ₱12 = ₱48.

2. With the purchase of 4 pieces, the customer receives another 1/8 illustration board for free. So the number of pieces now becomes 5.

3. To find the cost of the 5 whole illustration boards, we need to multiply the number of pieces by the cost of each piece. Since each whole illustration board contains 8 pieces, the cost of 5 whole boards would be:
5 * 8 * ₱12 = ₱480.

Therefore, Mike spent ₱480 to bring home 5 whole illustration boards, including the free piece.