if the sales tax is 9 1/4 precent, what is the total cost of a 61.01 item ?

Question

The options are

*66.82

*66.65

*67.40

*70.97 

Answer 1

$61.01 * 1.0925 = $66.65

 

The item price multiplied by 1.0 is just that price ... remember anything multiplied by 1 is that number.  Then when you convert 9 1/4% to a decimal it becomes .0925.  When you add 1.0 and 0.0925 = 1.0925 and multiply that by $61.01, you get $66.65.

 

The above technique cuts out the step of having to add the tax to the original item price, because you included the item price (1.0) and the tax (9 1/4% in decimal form) together when you multiplied them with the item price.

Answer 2

9 1/4 = 9.25% = 0.0925. Multiply this rate times the price of the purchase. 0.0925 * 61.01 = 5.64. That's the amount paid in taxes. Now you just add the amount of taxes to the original purchases. 5.64 + 61.01 = 66.65. (Note: This is the same thing as 1.0925 * 61.01. The logic here is pretty simple: The total amount paid is equal to 0.0925 * Price + 1 * Price [the original cost] = Price * [0.0925 + 1] = Price * 1.0925.)