Francine Flicka found a bargain when she bought a lawn mower. She paid the store's clerk three $20 bills and received him $7.45
in change. If the sales tax is 7.3%, what was the selling price of the mower before taxes?
$56.39
$53.55
$52.55
$48.97
$56.39
$53.55
$52.55
$48.97
2 answers:
Answer:
$48.97
Step-by-step explanation:
Let p represent the marked price of the mower. Then the price with tax is ...
with tax = p + 7.3%×p = 1.073p
The amount Flicka paid is the amount tendered less the change she received, so is ...
3×$20 - 7.45 = with tax = 1.073p
To find p, we can divide by its coefficient:
(3 × $20 - 7.45)/1.073 = p ≈ $48.97
The selling price before taxes was $48.97.
_____
<em>Comment on the problem</em>
If you check the answer, you find the amount with tax is ...
$48.97 × 1.073 ≈ $52.54481 ≈ $52.54
so the change Flicka would have received would have been $7.46, not $7.45. If the price were $48.98, then the change would have been $7.44. There is no price at which the mower can be marked that will make the total with tax come to $52.55. There is no solution to this problem.
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