Kevin recently purchased a new car. What was the cost of the car before tax if the total cost including 7% tax was $23,260?

Answer 1

Let C = Original cost of car

So the $23,260 is 107% of the original cost.

(1.07)(C) = 23,260

(1.07)(C) = 23,260

------------ ---------- Dividing both sides by 1.07 to isolate the variable C.

1.07 1.07

C = $ 21,738.32 Rounding off to the nearest penny.

ANSWER: Original cost of the car is $21,738.32

CHECKING:

The LONG WAY: 7% of $21,738.32 = (.07)(21,738.32) = $1,521.68

$21,738.32

+ 1,521.68

--------------------

$23,260.00

The Strawberry Shortcut: Why perform two problems? 7% more than 100% is 107%.

(1.07)(21,738.32) = 23,260

Hope this was helpful Sabrina.