Question

. A credit card company charges a late fee

of 10% on all late payments. Last month,
Jamal was charged a late fee. The total
amount paid, including the late fee, was
$275. What was the original amount on
the credit card before the late fee?

Answer 1

The original amount on the credit card before the late fee was $250.

Explanation:

Let’s call the initial balance on the credit card "x" to make it easy.

If Jamal was charged a 10% late fee on the initial sum, the late cost would be equal to 0.1x.

We also know that $275 was paid in total, including the late fee. With this, we can make an equation:

x + 0.1x = 275

We can combine the x terms on the left side of this equation to make it simpler:

1.1x = 275

We must place x on one side of the equation alone in order to solve for it. Divide both sides by 1.1 to get the answer:

x = 250

So, the credit card's initial balance before the late fee was $250.

To make sure our answer is correct, we can see the late fee is 10% of $250, or $25. The total paid, including the late fee, is $275 after adding it to the initial sum.

I hope this helps!

- Dante