Final answer:
To determine the actual cost of the meal before tax, the sales tax amount was first calculated by converting the tax rate to a decimal and multiplying it by the total cost, then this amount was subtracted from the total. The closest answer choice to the calculated actual cost of the food is $64.99 (option c).
Step-by-step explanation:
The total cost of the meal was $66.96, with a sales tax rate of 3%. To find the actual cost of the food, we need to calculate the amount of sales tax included in the total cost and then subtract it from the total.
First, convert the sales tax rate from a percent to a decimal by dividing by 100: 3% / 100 = 0.03. Next, multiply the total cost by this decimal to find the sales tax amount:
$66.96 × 0.03 = $2.0088
We can round this sales tax amount to the nearest cent, which gives us $2.01. Now, subtract the sales tax from the total cost to get the actual cost of the food:
$66.96 - $2.01 = $64.95
The closest answer to $64.95 is $64.99 from the answer choices, so the most likely actual cost of the food before tax was $64.99 (option c).