Final answer:
To find the total cost of an item with sales tax, convert the sales tax percentage to a decimal, multiply it by the cost of the item to find the amount of the tax, and then add it to the original cost.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the total cost of a sweater with 5% sales tax, you first need to find the amount of the sales tax. You can do this by converting the percentage to a decimal and multiply it by the cost of the sweater. For example, if the sweater costs $65.00, the calculation would be $65.00 x 0.05 = $3.25. You then add this amount of sales tax to the original cost of the sweater, resulting in a total cost of $65.00 + $3.25 = $68.25.
Let's make this clearer with another example. Suppose Emily buys a jacket, not a sweater this time, for $85. If the sales tax is 7.5%, which is converted to 0.075 in decimal form, the amount of sales tax is $85 x 0.075 = $6.375. Round it to the nearest cent, it becomes $6.38. The total cost of the jacket, therefore, is $85 + $6.38 = $91.38.
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