Final answer:
To find the original price of the clothes dryer after a 60% reduction, divide the sale price by 0.40.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the original price of the clothes dryer, we need to reverse the 60% reduction. Let's represent the original price as 'x'. If the reduction is 60%, then the price after the reduction is 40% of the original price, which can be written as: 0.40x. We know that 0.40x = $296. To find 'x', we can divide both sides of the equation by 0.40:
x = $296 / 0.40
Simplifying this expression, we get:
x = $740
Therefore, the original price of the clothes dryer was $740.