Question

Naty bought a dress for $24.95 and a skirt for $14.95. The sales clerk said the total cost including 9.5% sales tax was $49.40. Below are the steps the sales clerk completed.

Step 1: 24.95 + 14.95 = 39.90
Step 2: 39.90 + 9.5 = 49.40

Are the clerk's steps correct? If she is incorrect, identify her mistake and explain her error. Explain in writing how to accurately calculate the sales tax, the total cost, and state the correct total. (Round the final answer to the nearest hundredth)

Answer 1

see below

Explanation:

Clerk is wrong at step two. It should be...

To calculate the sales tax take 9.5% and divide by 100 which is 0.095. The tax is 0.095(39.90) = 3.79

Cost of items + Tax = Total cost

Cost of items + .095(cost of items) = Total cost

39.90 + 3.79 = 43.69

Answer 2

Answer:$43.69
She is incorrect. The mistake she made was adding $9.5 instead of taking 9.5% from the $39.90 and adding it to the initial total. The correct answer is actually $43.69. To find sales tax add your two starting prices and simply find the percent your looking for and add it to the original total