Final answer:
To find Marc's restaurant bill subtotal, divide his sales tax amount of $1.61 by the tax rate of 9.5% as a decimal (0.095) to get approximately $16.95.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate Marc’s subtotal at a restaurant considering the given sales tax rate of 9.5%, we first need to understand the relationship between subtotal, sales tax rate, and sales tax amount. The sales tax amount is found by multiplying the subtotal by the sales tax rate (converted from a percentage to a decimal). Therefore, to find the subtotal, we can rearrange the formula to solve for the subtotal.
Let's represent the subtotal as 'S'. The sales tax amount is given as $1.61, which is 9.5% of the subtotal. To convert the percentage to a decimal, we divide it by 100, so 9.5% becomes 0.095. The relationship between sales tax amount, subtotal, and sales tax rate is given by the equation: Sales Tax Amount = Subtotal × Sales Tax Rate. Hence, $1.61 = S × 0.095.
To find the subtotal 'S', we can divide the sales tax amount by the sales tax rate as a decimal:
Divide the sales tax amount by the sales tax rate: S = $1.61 / 0.095.
Calculate the result to find the subtotal: S = $16.947
Since we deal with currency, we normally round it to the nearest cent, so the subtotal is approximately $16.95.
Therefore, Marc's subtotal before tax was approximately $16.95.