Final answer:
To find the tax amount for a $50 purchase with an 8% sales tax, convert the percentage to decimal form and multiply by 50, resulting in a tax amount of $4.00.
Step-by-step explanation:
The tax amount for a $50 purchase when the store charges an 8% sales tax can be calculated by converting the percentage to a decimal form and then multiplying it by the total cost of the items. The percentage of the sales tax is converted to decimal form by dividing the percentage by 100, which gives us 0.08. To find the sales tax for a $50 purchase, we multiply 50 by 0.08:
50 × 0.08 = $4.00