After an increase of 8½% the new Icall costs $38.76. How much did it cost before the price increase?

1.085 x = 38.76

To find the original price before the increase, we can use the formula:

Original price = New price / (1 + Percentage increase)

In this case, the new price is $38.76 and the percentage increase is 8½%, which can be converted to a decimal as 0.085.

So, to find the original price, we'll substitute these values into the formula:

Original price = $38.76 / (1 + 0.085)

First, add 1 and 0.085 to get 1.085.

Original price = $38.76 / 1.085

Divide $38.76 by 1.085 to get the original price:

Original price ≈ $35.80

Therefore, the original price before the increase was approximately $35.80.

0.915 * 38.76 = $________