A delivery service charges $25 per pound for making a delivery. If there is an additional 8% sales tax, what is the cost of delivering an item that weights 4/5 of a pound?

Answer 1

Let x = the number of pounds

(Note: * means "times")

Cost = (25 x) * 1.08

Plug in 4/5 for x. (4/5 = 0.8)

Cost = (25*0.8) * 1.08

Cost = 20 * 1.08 = 21.6

The charge would be $21.60.

The reason the subtotal is multiplied by 1.08 is because the 8% sales tax is added to the subtotal.

Alternatively, we could have done it this way:

Cost of item = 25 * 0.8 = 20

Delivery cost = 20 + (20 * 0.08) = 20 + 1.6 = 21.6