Question

The sales tax rate (state and local) is 9.5%. What would the total be including sales taxes for an item with a price tag of $9.78?

Option 1: $10.73
Option 2: $10.67
Option 3: $9.42
Option 4: $10.71

Answer 1

To find the total cost including sales tax, convert the sales tax rate to a decimal, multiply it by the item's price, then add the sales tax to the original price. The correct total for a $9.78 item with 9.5% sales tax is $10.71.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the total cost of an item including sales tax, you must first convert the sales tax rate to a decimal. In this case, convert 9.5% to a decimal, which is 0.095. Then, multiply the original price of the item by this decimal to find the amount of sales tax. Once you have the sales tax amount, add it to the original price to find the total cost.

For an item priced at $9.78:
Amount of sales tax = $9.78 × 0.095
= $0.9291 (approximately $0.93 when rounded to the nearest cent).

Thus, the total cost including sales tax is:
Original price + Sales tax
= $9.78 + $0.93
= $10.71

Therefore, Option 4: $10.71, is the correct answer.