Identify the base in the following application:
The sales tax rate in a state is 7.5%. If you pay a tax of $17.50 on an item that you purchase, what is its selling price?
How do YOU think this problem could be solved? What do YOU think is the answer?
$100 : $7.5
x : $17.5
x = $100*17.5/7.5 = $233.33
To identify the base in this application, we need to understand the formula for calculating the tax amount. The formula is:
Tax amount = Selling price * Tax rate
In this case, the tax rate is given as 7.5%, which can be written as 0.075 in decimal form. The tax amount is given as $17.50. By rearranging the formula, we can solve for the selling price:
Selling price = Tax amount / Tax rate
Substituting the given values, we have:
Selling price = $17.50 / 0.075
To calculate this, divide $17.50 by 0.075 to find the selling price.