Question

Karen saw a laptop for sale in 2004.

In March 2005, the price of this laptop was reduced 20%.
In June 2005, the price of this laptop was reduced by one sixth of the March 2005 price.

Compared with the 2004 price, what percentage discount would Karen obtain by buying this laptop in June 2005?

Answer 1

Explanation:

Let X be the initial price in March 2004.

Let X' be the price for March 2005.

Let X" be the price for June 2005.

March 2005: The price was reduced by 20%. Thus, X' = 0.8X

June 2005: The price was reduced by 1/6 of the March 2005 price: Thus,

X" = X' - (1/6)X'

Substituting, we have X" = (0.8X) - (1/6)(0.8X)

X" = (0.8X) - (1/6)(0.8X)

X" = (0.8X) - (0.1333X)

X" = 0.6667X

The June 2005 price is 0.6667 of the 2004 price. That's a (1-0.6667) or 33.33% reduction.