Question

Sarah bought 4 tickets to a concert. The cost of the tickets and tax were $72.27. Sarah bought the tickets in Washington where sales tax is 9.5%. How much was each ticket to the concert?

Answer 1

Each ticket was $16.50

Explanation:

Let t stand for the price of a ticket before sales tax, and T the price after sales tax. Each ticket, t, has a 9.5% sales tax applied. This brings the total cost, T, of a ticket to:

T = t*(1+0.095) [9.5% is added to the ticket price]

Sarah buys 4 tickets, T, for $72.27.

We can write: 4T = $72.27

Then substitute: 4*t(1+0.095) = $72.27

4*t(1+0.095) = $72.27

4.38t = $72.27

t = $16.50

Each ticket was $16.50

CHECK:

Do 4 $16.50 tickets plus 8.5% tax add to $72.27?

4*($16.50)*(1.095) = $72.27?

$72.27 = $72.27? YES