Question

practice

1. sharon paid $78 sales tax on a new camera. if the sales tax rate is 6.5%, what was the cost of the camera?
2. there are 45 students who play a woodwind instrument in the school band. of these, 18 play the saxophone. what percent of these students play the saxophone?

Explanation:

Problem 1

Step1: Recall the sales tax formula

The formula for sales tax is \( \text{Sales Tax} = \text{Cost of Item} \times \text{Tax Rate} \). Let \( x \) be the cost of the camera. We know the sales tax is $78 and the tax rate is 6.5% or 0.065 in decimal form. So we can write the equation: \( 78 = x \times 0.065 \)

Step2: Solve for \( x \)

To find \( x \), we divide both sides of the equation by 0.065: \( x=\frac{78}{0.065} \)
Calculating \( \frac{78}{0.065} = 1200 \)

Step1: Recall the percentage formula

The formula for finding the percentage is \( \text{Percentage}=\frac{\text{Part}}{\text{Whole}}\times100\% \). Here, the "part" is the number of students who play the saxophone (18) and the "whole" is the number of students who play a woodwind instrument (45).

Step2: Calculate the percentage

Substitute the values into the formula: \( \text{Percentage}=\frac{18}{45}\times100\% \)
First, simplify \( \frac{18}{45}=0.4 \), then multiply by 100%: \( 0.4\times100\% = 40\% \)

Answer:

The cost of the camera is $1200.

Problem 2