Question

The new Perry Hotter book will have a cover price of $25. The local bookstore is offering two discounts $4.00 off and 20% off. A clever shopper realizes that the prices will be different depending on the order in which she claims her discounts. How much more money will she save by taking the better valued approach rather than the other approach? Express your answer in cents.

Answer 1

The first way is to do 25% off then $4.00 off. 
25% of 25 is $6.25.
25 - 6.25 = 18.75 
Deduct the $4.00 discount. 
18.75 - 4 = $14.75 

The second way is $4.00 off then 25% off. 
Subtract the $4.00 discount. 
25 - 4 = 21 
25% of 21 is 5.25. 
21 - 5.25 = $15.75 

The final cost for the first way is exactly $1 more, or 100 cents. 
Hope this helps!