Question

Fatima purchased a new mattress when it was on sale. The sale price was 20% less than the regular price. If the sale price was $358, what was the original price? (Round your answer to the nearest dollar).

Answer 1

20% equals 0.2
100% - 20% = 80% or 0.08

358 / 0.8 = $447.50

Check
447.50 * 0.8 = 358

Answer 2

well, the regular price is really "x", which oddly enough is 100%, but we also know that $358 is really the discounted price by 20%, namely 100% - 20% = 80%, so we know that 358 is really just 80% of "x", so

`\begin{array}{ccll} amount&\%\\ \cline{1-2} x & 100\\ 358& 80 \end{array} \implies \cfrac{x}{358}~~=~~\cfrac{100}{80} \\\\\\ \cfrac{x}{358}=\cfrac{5}{4}\implies 4x=1790\implies x=\cfrac{1790}{4}\implies x\approx 448`