Question

The current price of a pair of Lux basketball shoes is 30$. The original price had been reduced by 25%. That reduced price was then lowered by 50%, to arrive at the current price. What was the original price?

Answer 1

The original price was $80.

Explanation:

Let the original price be p.

Then, after the first discount (25%), the price became 0.75($30), or $22.50. We begin with 100% of p, convert this percentage to a decimal fraction multiplying p: 1.00p. Next, we subtract the resulting fraction from 1.00, obtaining 0.75. Finally, we multiply the original price, p, by this result:

0.75p.

Following a similar procedure, we determine the formula for the price after the second discounting: (1.00 - 0.50)(0.75p), obtaining:

0.50(0.75p) = 0.375p. That's the current price, $30. Writing and solving an appropriate equation, we get

0.375p = $30. Dividing both sides of this equation by 0.375 yields:

p = ($30) / 0.375 = $80.

The original price was $80.