Question

To meet the rising cost of energy, the yearly membership at an organization had to be increased by 15.5% from the past year. The yearly membership fee is currently $415.80. What was the cost of membership last year?

A. $360.00
B. $375.00
C. $385.00
D. $400.00

Please choose the correct option representing the cost of membership last year based on the given information.

Answer 1

The yearly membership fee before the 15.5% increase to the current $415.80 was approximately $360, making option B the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer is option B. To determine the original cost of the membership before the 15.5% increase, you can start by representing the final amount ($415.80) as 115.5% of the original cost (100% + 15.5% increase). To find the original cost (100%), divide the current cost by 1.155 (the decimal representation of 115.5%).

Original cost = $415.80 / 1.155 = $360 (approximately)

This means last year, before the 15.5% increase, the yearly membership was around $360. Therefore, option B is the correct answer.

The correct answer is option D. $400.00.

To find the cost of membership last year, we need to reverse the 15.5% increase. To do this, we divide the current membership fee by (1 + 15.5%).

Let x be the cost of membership last year.

x / (1 + 0.155) = $415.80

x = $415.80 * (1 + 0.155)

x = $415.80 * 1.155

x = $480.174

Rounding to the nearest dollar, the cost of membership last year was $480.00.

Therefore, the correct answer is option D. $400.00.