hsmom3tn Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Hello everyone :) I haven't been here in a while, but I'm stumped on a math problem and knew that someone here would be able to help me. I really ought to be able to figure this out, but I have no clue... :tongue_smilie: If the total price of something (cost + tax) is $92.75; and the sales tax is 6%, how much was the original price before tax? Please tell me how to figure this out so that I can explain it to my son, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad 4 Boys Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Total $ = price + tax tax = (price X tax rate) Therefore, by substitution Total $ = price + (price X tax rate) Next, by the distributive property of multiplication, this can be changed to: Total $ = price * (1 + tax rate) So, if you know the total $ and the tax rate, you can solve the equation for price by dividing both sides by (1 + tax rate), which gives you: price = Total $ / (1 + tax rate) In your case, price = $92.75 / (1 + 0.06) since the tax rate = 6% or 0.06 price = $92.75 / 1.06 = $87.50 Edited February 23, 2011 by Dad 4 Boys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom3tn Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktkcb Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 well, I'll chime in late. $92.75 is 106%, so you can just divide it by 106, and multiply by 100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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