Question

Mary bought a desk on sale for 88.40. This price was 74% less than the original price.

What was the original price?

Answer 1

p = $340

Explanation:

Let p represent the original price. Then the amount Mary paid was (100% - 74%) of the original price: 0.26p = $88.40.

Solving for p: p = $340

Check: what is 74% of $340? $251.60. Subtracting this from $340, we get $88.40. This agrees with the problem statement.