A theater group made appearances in two cities. The hotel charge before tax in the second city was $1000 lower than in the first
. The tax in the first city was 7.5% , and the tax in the second city was 5% . The total hotel tax paid for the two cities was $575 . How much was the hotel charge in each city before tax?
Let x represent the pre-tax hotel charge in the first city in dollars. Then the hotel charge in the second city is x-1000 dollars, and the total tax is ...
... 7.5%·x +5%·(x -1000) = 575
... 12.5%·x = 625 . . . . simplify, add 50
... x = 5000 . . . . . . . . divide by 12.5% (=0.125)
The first-city charge was $5000; the second-city charge was $4000.
