Question

A new blu-ray player costs $87.99 in the store. What would your total cost be if the sales tax is 6.5%? Round your answer to the nearest cent, if necessary.

Answer 1

The sales tax is 6.5% of $87.99. If $87.99 represents 100%, to find the 6.5% we can use the next proportion:

$\frac{87.99\text{ \ }}{x\text{ \ }}=\frac{100\text{ \%}}{6.5\text{ \%}}$

Solving for x:

$\begin{gathered} 87.99\cdot6.5=100\cdot x \\ \frac{571.9}{100}=x \\ 5.72=x \end{gathered}$

The sales tax is $5.72. In consequence, the total cost is:

$\begin{gathered} \text{total cost = price + sales tax} \\ \text{total cost = \ }87.99+\text{\ }5.72 \\ \text{total cost = \ }93.71 \end{gathered}$