Perceived Sale Price
MAT101 - Mathematics for Everyday Life
Jason Fouts

Introduction: For our second assignment we were provided a two questions scenario that presented the cost of a pair of jeans as well as the cost of iPod speakers. The first problem specified that a pair of jeans cost $55.99 last shopping season. For this shopping season the price of the jeans increased by 15 percent. Later in the season, the jeans were put on sale for 15 percent off. We were asked to discover the original cost of the jeans at the beginning of the season, and the sale price. To do so we must; compute the actual price at the beginning of the season. Use the computation from the original price to solve for the discounted price. Utilize the discounted price to discover the sale price. To begin, we would multiply $55.99 X .15 which will give us the $8.40 increase in price for a total of $64.39. We would then multiply $64.39 X .15 for a total of $9.66; the amount the jeans were actually discounted. Once once complete we subtract $64.39-$9.66 to get the sale price of $54.73. The second part of the problem as to discover the cost of some iPod speakers. The list price of an iPod speaker is $45.50. It is on sale for 20% off, and there is an 8% sales tax. The store calculates the sales tax on $45.50, and then takes 20% off the total. Jonathan wants them to take the discount first and then calculate the tax, reasoning that the tax will then be calculated based on the lower price and he will pay less. We must discover if Jonathan is correct? How much will he pay each way? Based on the data provided the calculations will be as follows:
1. Store: 45.50 X .08 = $3.64; 45.50+ 3.64=$49.14; 49.14 X.20