I Need Your Help

n/a | 12/12/10 | daihuy

[DaiHuy]

I need the help of some of you who are more well versed in math than I, especiaqlly percentages.

John sells a car to Ted for total of $2000.00. Included in the price is a 5% sales tax. What was the original sale price of the car before the tax was added.

If you could please show me the formula you used to arrive at your answer I would greatly appreciate it.

thanks

[DaiHuy]

especiaqlly should be especially

[anoldafvet]

$2000/1.05 = $1904.76

[pf flyers]

1.05x=$2,000.00

X=$1,904.76

[SuzyQue]

Yep, agreed, that’s how I’d do it.

[Graybeard58]

I may be wrong, it’s happened before but I believe that 95% of $2,000 is the original cost.

[sodpoodle]

$1904.76 is correct.

The formula is to divide $2000.00 by 105% which gives you:

$1904.76 as 95%
95.24 as 5%

(I quit school at 15 BTW)

[edcoil]

Here is a good math link for future use.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/

[TheConservator]

If x is the original price of the car, then 1.05x = $2,000.00.

Divide each side by 1.05.

$2000.00/1.05 = x

$1904.761 = x

Note that there isn’t a whole number answer to your question.

I think this is right.

[Graybeard58]

Told you I might be wrong didn’t I?

[BigGaloot]

Do your own homework.

[big black dog]

P = original price of car (before tax)

0.05 * P = tax

P + (0.05*P) =2000

1.05P = 2000

2000/1.05 = P

[svcw]

Example:

Here is an example:

Tax Rate = 8%
cost = $1000.00
Divide by 1.0800 = $925.93

$925.93 X 8.0% = $74.07

$925.93+$74.07 = $1000.00

[Ramonne]

That is probably why you can do math....lol
I graduated and can’t do math...

[Innovative]

BBD — a lot of other people got the right answer, but it’s nice that you actually went through the logic step by step.

DH — this is your logic and the answer.

[astuddis]

Agreed...

Freepers are usually eager to help, but elementary school arithmetic should be discussed elsewhere.

[DaiHuy]

Thanks to everyone for your help.

now I have ot laugh at myself for making it more complicated that it is.

I guess sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees

[Smokin' Joe]

(I quit school at 15 BTW)

But you didn't quit learning.

Mark Twain said, "Never let your schooling interfere with your education."

[DaiHuy]

Ok, I had the right formula

x+.05x=2000

thanks to all of you I see my mistake. I forgot to that x is always really 1x or 1 when in a formula like this.

Getting old I guess

[ProudFossil]

$1904.76 is correct. The formula is to divide $2000.00 by 105% which gives you: $1904.76 as 95% 95.24 as 5% (I quit school at 15 BTW)

Except in the world of Washington DC politics. Then the correct formula is divide $2,000.00 by .01 which gives you $200,000. Then subtract the original 2,000 from the $200,000. That leaves $198,000. So the car actually would have cost $202,000. $198,000 for the tax, 2,000 for the car, and another 2,000 for the clunker fund.

Makes sense to pigosi and dingy harry.

(I changed party affiliation at 35 BTW)