Question

This year, a salesman sells a total of $60,000 worth of steak knives by going door-to-door. This represents a 20% increase from the year before. What was the value of his sales last year?

A. $45,000
B. $48,000
C. $50,000
D. $52,500
E. $56,000​

Answer 1

$50,000

Explanation:

Let's denote the sales of the previous year as X. According to the information given, this year's sales ($60,000) represent a 20% increase from the previous year. This can be translated into the following equation:

$60,000 = X + 0.20 * X

Or, equivalently:

$60,000 = 1.20 * X

To solve for X (the sales from the previous year), we can divide both sides of the equation by 1.20:

X = $60,000 / 1.20

X = $50,000

So, the value of his sales last year was $50,000.

Hope this helps! :)