Final answer:
To find the total cost including a 6.1% sales tax, convert the tax rate to a decimal, multiply it by the item price to get the tax amount, add it to the original price to find the total cost, or use the formula C = P × (1 + 0.061).
Step-by-step explanation:
To express the total cost, C, in terms of the price of the item, P, when the sales tax is 6.1%, follow these steps:
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- Convert the sales tax rate from a percent to a decimal by dividing by 100. Thus, 6.1% becomes 0.061.
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- Multiply the price of the item, P, by the decimal sales tax rate to find the amount of sales tax. So the sales tax amount is P × 0.061.
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- Add the sales tax amount to the original price to find the total cost. Therefore, C = P + (P × 0.061).
To simplify, you can factor out P from the right side of the equation, resulting in C = P × (1 + 0.061).
Using this formula, if an item costs P dollars, the total cost including sales tax will be P times 1.061.