Answer:the college bookstore paid
$57.86 for the book.
Explanation:
Let x represent the price that the college bookstore paid the publisher to get the book.
The college bookstore marks up the price by 40%. It means that the value of the mark up would be .40/100 × x = 0.4 × x = 0.4x
Therefore, the selling price of the book at the college bookstore would be
x + 0.4x = 1.4x
If the selling price of a book is $ 81.00, it means that
1.4x = 81
x = 81/1.4 = $57.86