<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
  • Solve sales tax applications
  • Solve commission applications
  • Solve discount applications
  • Solve mark-up applications

Before you get started, take this readiness quiz.

  1. Solve 0.0875 ( 720 ) through multiplication.
    If you missed this problem, review Decimal Operations .
  2. Solve 12.96 ÷ 0.04 through division.
    If you missed this problem, review Decimal Operations .

Solve sales tax applications

Sales tax and commissions are applications of percent in our everyday lives. To solve these applications, we will follow the same strategy we used in the section on decimal operations. We show it again here for easy reference.

Solve an application
  1. Identify what you are asked to find and choose a variable to represent it.
  2. Write a sentence that gives the information to find it.
  3. Translate the sentence into an equation.
  4. Solve the equation using good algebra techniques.
  5. Check the answer in the problem and make sure it makes sense.
  6. Write a complete sentence that answers the question.

Remember that whatever the application, once we write the sentence with the given information (Step 2), we can translate it to a percent equation and then solve it.

Do you pay a tax when you shop in your city or state? In many parts of the United States, sales tax    is added to the purchase price of an item. See [link] . The sales tax is determined by computing a percent of the purchase price.

To find the sales tax multiply the purchase price by the sales tax rate. Remember to convert the sales tax rate from a percent to a decimal number. Once the sales tax is calculated, it is added to the purchase price. The result is the total cost—this is what the customer pays.

The figure shows a restaurant check with sales tax
The sales tax is calculated as a percent of the purchase price.

Sales tax

The sales tax    is a percent of the purchase price.

Sales Tax = Tax Rate · Purchase Price Total Cost = Purchase Price + Sales Tax

Cathy bought a bicycle in Washington, where the sales tax rate was 6.5% of the purchase price. What was

  1. the sales tax and
  2. the total cost of a bicycle if the purchase price of the bicycle was $392 ?

Solution

Identify what you are asked to find. Let n = number. What is the sales tax?
Choose a variable to represent it. Let t = sales tax.
Write a sentence that gives the information to find it. The sales tax is 6.5% of the purchase price.
Translate into an equation. (Remember to change the percent to a decimal). .
Simplify. .
Check: Is this answer reasonable?
Yes, because the sales tax amount is less than 10% of the purchase price.
Write a complete sentence that answers the question. The sales tax is $25.48.
Identify what you are asked to find. Let n = number. What is the total cost of the bicycle?
Choose a variable to represent it. Let c = total cost of bicycle.
Write a sentence that gives the information to find it. The total cost is the purchase price plus the sales tax.
Translate into an equation. .
Simplify. .
Check: Is this answer reasonable?
Yes, because the total cost is a little more than the purchase price.
Write a complete sentence that answers the question. The sales tax is $26.46 and the total cost is the price plus the sales tax or $392 + $25.48 = $417.48.
Got questions? Get instant answers now!
Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Questions & Answers

A golfer on a fairway is 70 m away from the green, which sits below the level of the fairway by 20 m. If the golfer hits the ball at an angle of 40° with an initial speed of 20 m/s, how close to the green does she come?
Aislinn Reply
cm
tijani
what is titration
John Reply
what is physics
Siyaka Reply
A mouse of mass 200 g falls 100 m down a vertical mine shaft and lands at the bottom with a speed of 8.0 m/s. During its fall, how much work is done on the mouse by air resistance
Jude Reply
Can you compute that for me. Ty
Jude
what is the dimension formula of energy?
David Reply
what is viscosity?
David
what is inorganic
emma Reply
what is chemistry
Youesf Reply
what is inorganic
emma
Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with the study of matter,it composition,it structure and the changes it undergoes
Adjei
please, I'm a physics student and I need help in physics
Adjanou
chemistry could also be understood like the sexual attraction/repulsion of the male and female elements. the reaction varies depending on the energy differences of each given gender. + masculine -female.
Pedro
A ball is thrown straight up.it passes a 2.0m high window 7.50 m off the ground on it path up and takes 1.30 s to go past the window.what was the ball initial velocity
Krampah Reply
2. A sled plus passenger with total mass 50 kg is pulled 20 m across the snow (0.20) at constant velocity by a force directed 25° above the horizontal. Calculate (a) the work of the applied force, (b) the work of friction, and (c) the total work.
Sahid Reply
you have been hired as an espert witness in a court case involving an automobile accident. the accident involved car A of mass 1500kg which crashed into stationary car B of mass 1100kg. the driver of car A applied his brakes 15 m before he skidded and crashed into car B. after the collision, car A s
Samuel Reply
can someone explain to me, an ignorant high school student, why the trend of the graph doesn't follow the fact that the higher frequency a sound wave is, the more power it is, hence, making me think the phons output would follow this general trend?
Joseph Reply
Nevermind i just realied that the graph is the phons output for a person with normal hearing and not just the phons output of the sound waves power, I should read the entire thing next time
Joseph
Follow up question, does anyone know where I can find a graph that accuretly depicts the actual relative "power" output of sound over its frequency instead of just humans hearing
Joseph
"Generation of electrical energy from sound energy | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore" ***ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7150687?reload=true
Ryan
what's motion
Maurice Reply
what are the types of wave
Maurice
answer
Magreth
progressive wave
Magreth
hello friend how are you
Muhammad Reply
fine, how about you?
Mohammed
hi
Mujahid
A string is 3.00 m long with a mass of 5.00 g. The string is held taut with a tension of 500.00 N applied to the string. A pulse is sent down the string. How long does it take the pulse to travel the 3.00 m of the string?
yasuo Reply
Who can show me the full solution in this problem?
Reofrir Reply
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply
Practice Key Terms 9

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Prealgebra. OpenStax CNX. Jul 15, 2016 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11756/1.9
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Prealgebra' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask