Final answer:
To calculate the total bill including tip and tax, convert the tax and tip percentages to decimals, multiply them by the meal cost to find their amounts, and add them to the meal cost. Jerod's total payment would be $58.90 if he leaves an 18% tip on top of the 6% sales tax and $47.50 meal cost.
Step-by-step explanation:
When calculating the total bill including tip and tax at a restaurant, it's essential to first determine the individual amounts of the sales tax and the tip before adding them to the original cost of the meal. The problem states that the total meal cost was $47.50 and there's a 6% sales tax on the total. The first step involves converting the sales tax percentage into a decimal by dividing by 100 (6% becomes 0.06) and multiplying it by the meal cost to find the sales tax amount.
To find the sales tax, you multiply: 0.06 × $47.50 = $2.85. To this subtotal, the tip has to be added. For the tip calculation, you need to decide on the percentage you want to leave, convert it into a decimal and then multiply by the cost of the meal to find the tip amount. If Jerod leaves an 18% tip, this becomes: 0.18 × $47.50 = $8.55. Lastly, you add both the sales tax and tip to the original meal cost to get the total amount payable at the restaurant's register.
Therefore, the total payment would be: $47.50 (original meal cost) + $2.85 (sales tax) + $8.55 (tip) = $58.90. This is the amount that will be paid using a credit card including the sales tax and tip.