Question

Find last year's salary if this year's salary is $48,200 after a 3% pay raise.

a. $1,105,000
b. $1,400
c. $45,600
d. $46,800

Answer 1

Last year's salary was approximately $46,800, calculated by dividing this year's salary of $48,200 by 1.03 to account for the 3% pay raise.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find last year's salary, we need to calculate the amount before this year's 3% pay raise. If this year's salary after a 3% raise is $48,200, we reverse the increase to find the original amount. We can set up the equation: last year's salary × (1 + 3/100) = $48,200.

First, convert the percentage to a decimal: 3% = 0.03. Then, divide this year's salary by 1.03 to find last year's salary:

last year's salary = $48,200 / 1.03

Solving for last year's salary gives us:

last year's salary = $46,796.12, which when rounded to the nearest hundred, is approximately $46,800.

Therefore, the correct answer is (d) $46,800.