Question

At a sale this week, a desk is being sold for $493. This is a 32% discount off the original price. What was the original price of the desk?

1) $725
2) $725.50
3) $725.75
4) $726

Answer 1

To determine the original price of a discounted item, divide the sale price by 1 minus the discount rate. For the desk on sale at $493 with a 32% discount, the original price is $725. Therefore, the correct option is 1) $725.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks how to calculate the original price of a desk that is now on sale. The desk is being sold for $493 after receiving a 32% discount.

The original price can be found by using the formula Original Price = Sale Price / (1 - Discount Rate). The Discount Rate in decimal form is 0.32, so we plug in the numbers to get Original Price = $493 / (1 - 0.32). This results in an original price of Original Price = $493 / 0.68, which equals approximately $725.

The answer to the question is option 1) $725. This is the closest whole number to the calculated original price without exceeding the actual amount when considering standard pricing practices which typically do not include fractions of a dollar for most items.