Question

Joe wants to buy a toaster that costs $15 dollars. The sales tax on the toaster is 5%. What is the total cost Joe will pay for the toaster? (Please explain how you solved the problem)

Answer 1

$15.75

Explanation:

You can do this a couple of ways.

(1) Compute the tax, and add it to the price to find the total.

5% × $15 = 0.05 × $15 = $0.75 . . . . amount of tax

Then the total cost is $15 + $0.75 = $15.75.

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(2) Add the percentage to 100% and use that to multiply the cost.

total cost = $15 + 5% × $15 = $15×(100% +5%) = $15×1.05

total cost = $15.75