Question

a college bookstore marks up the price that it pays the publisher for a book by 40%. if the selling price of a book is $96.00, how much did the bookstore pay for this book?
the store originally paid $\square$ for the book.
(round to two decimal places as needed).

Explanation:

Step1: Define cost variable

Let $x$ = bookstore's cost for the book.

Step2: Set up selling price equation

Selling price = cost + 40% markup, so:
$x + 0.40x = 96.00$

Step3: Simplify left-hand side

Combine like terms:
$1.40x = 96.00$

Step4: Solve for x

Divide both sides by 1.40:
$x = \frac{96.00}{1.40}$

Step5: Calculate and round

Compute the value and round to two decimals:
$x \approx 68.57$

Answer:

$\$68.57$