Question 11·Medium·Percentages
A laptop that normally sells for $600 is placed on sale. First, its price is reduced by . Then an additional discount is applied to the new sale price, resulting in a final price of $408.
What is the value of ?
For multi-step percent discount problems, treat each discount as a multiplier on the price: a discount means you multiply by . Either work forward by writing an equation like and solving for , or work backward from the final price by undoing the last discount (dividing by ) to find the intermediate price, then compare that to the original to get the first discount as a fraction and convert it to a percent. Use fractions or exact decimals to avoid rounding errors and save time. Thіѕ queѕtiοn is from Anікo
Hints
Use the information about the second discount
Let be the price right after the first discount. A 15% discount means the customer pays 85% of . How can you write an equation involving and the final price, ?
Undo the 15% discount
Once you have equal to , solve for by dividing by . This gives you the price after the first discount but before the second one.
Relate the intermediate price back to
Compare the intermediate price to the original price . How many dollars were taken off in the first discount, and what fraction of is that?
Turn the fraction into a percent
After you find the fraction of that was discounted, convert that fraction to a percentage by multiplying by 100.
Desmos Guide
Set up the price equation in Desmos
In one expression line, type y = 600*(1 - x/100)*0.85. This represents the final price after an discount followed by a 15% discount.
Graph the target final price
In a new line, type y = 408. This is the horizontal line representing the actual final price of the laptop.
Find the intersection
Look at the point where the curve y = 600*(1 - x/100)*0.85 intersects the line y = 408. The x-coordinate of this intersection gives the value of that makes the final price . Сοntеnt bу Aniko.aі
Step-by-step Explanation
Represent the second discount with an equation
Let the price after the first discount be dollars. Then a 15% discount means the customer pays 85% of , or .
We are told this final price is , so:
.
Solve for the price after the first discount
To find , divide both sides of by :
.
Compute :
- Multiply top and bottom by 100: .
- , so .
So, after the first discount (but before the 15% discount), the laptop cost .
Find how much was taken off in the first discount
The laptop originally cost and was reduced to after the first discount.
Amount of the first discount:
dollars.
So the first discount lowered the price by from the original .
Convert the first discount to a percentage of the original price
The first discount is out of the original .
The fraction of the original price that was discounted is:
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Therefore, .