Carcass wrote:
Connie paid a sales tax of 8 percent on her purchase. If the sales tax had been only 5 percent, she would have paid $12 less in sales tax on her purchase. What was the total amount that Connie paid for her purchase including sales tax?
A. $368
B. $380
C. $400
D. $420
E. $432
Let's start with the following word equation:
(total cost including 8% tax) - (total cost including 5% tax) = $12Let x = the cost of the purchase (without tax)
So we can write:
(x + 8% of x) - (x + 5% of x) = $12In other words:
(x + 0.08x) - (x + 0.05x) = $12Simplify:
0.03x = 12Solve:
x = 12/0.03 = 1200/3 = 400So, the cost of the purchase (without tax) is
$400So, the total amount Connie paid =
$400 + (8% of
$400) =
$432Answer: E