PSAT Math : Arithmetic
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Example Questions
Example Question #12 : How To Find The Sale Price
A pair of shoes originally sells for $250. There is a sale, and the shoes are then sold for 20% off. The shoes are then marked down an additional 35%. If sales tax is 7%, what can you buy the pair of shoes for today, including tax?
$137.00
$139.10
$214.70
$130.00
$162.50
$139.10
The shoes are first marked down 20%.
20% of $250 = .2 x $250 = $50
Sales price = $250 - $50 = $200
The second markdown is 35%.
35% of $200 = .35 x $200 = $70
New price = $200 - $70 = $130
Calculate the sales tax:
7% of $130 = .07 x $130 = $9.10
Total price = $130 + $9.10 = $139.10
Example Question #11 : Percentage
A shirt at the store has a retail price of $17.50. If a customer buys the shirt and uses a 15% coupon, how much does he pay for the shirt, assuming there is no sales tax?
(Round to two decimal places.)
$14.88
$15.25
$14.87
$15.75
$14
$14.88
If a customer has a 15% coupon, the customer will pay 85% of the original price. To solve this problem, simply multiply the original price of the shirt by the percent of the price the customer still has to pay:
Round to the nearest two decimal places, and we see that the price of the shirt is $14.88.
Example Question #13 : How To Find The Sale Price
Your friend works at a computer store. She can get a 15% discount on any item’s current price for as many items as she wants. She wants to buy a laptop for $2200 and a smartphone for $200. Local sales tax where your friend lives is 8%. What will be her total cost to buy these two items?
$2040
$2592
$2400
$2203.20
$1848.08
$2203.20
First, find the total price of the products $2200 + $200 = $2400.
Then apply the 15% discount: $2400 * 0.15 = $360
Subtract the discount: $2400 – $360 = $2040.
Then find cost of sales tax $2040 * 0.08 = 163.20
Add: $2040 + 163.20 = $2203.20.
(An alternative would be to multiply the cost by 1.08.)
Example Question #1211 : Sat Mathematics
A sunglasses kiosk at the mall makes a $50 profit for every 6 pairs of sunglasses it sells. How many pairs of sunglasses must it sell to earn $1000 profit?
30
120
300
20
100
120
Divide the profit per 6 pairs into the total desired profit $1000/$50 = 20.
Multiply 20 by 6 sunglasses = 120 sunglasses. Or use 6/50 = x/1000 and solve for x.
Example Question #411 : Arithmetic
Ricky works at a shoe shop, and earns $40 in commission for each pair of shoes he sells plus a $100 weekly salary. If Ricky receives no other money, which of the following expressions represents the total dollar amount Ricky receives for a week in which he sells n shoes?
100 + n
100 + 40n
140 + n
140n
40(100 + n)
100 + 40n
If Ricky sells n shoes in a week, he earns $40n in commission. His salary is a constant $100 per week, so his total payout is $100 + $40n.
Example Question #1 : How To Find Amount Of Profit
An entrepreneur started a company making floggles. The factory requires $1000 worth of fixed expenses to keep it running every month. She is able to produce one floggle at the cost of $4 and sell one floggle at the cost of $6. If she produces and sells 500 floggles in one month, what is her profit?
$2000
$1000
$0
$4000
$3000
$0
Profit = Income - Expenditures
Income = $6/floggle times 500 floggles = $3000
Expenditures = $1000 + $4/floggle times 500 floggles = $1000 + $2000 = $3000
Profit = 3000 - 3000 = 0
Example Question #1 : Profit Margin
You are planning a New Year’s Eve bash. For each person attending, the caterer will charge you $15 for food, $10 for beverages, $5 for service. The band charges $2000 for the entire evening. You also have to pay the venue $2500 to rent the location for the night and $3 for parking for each attendee. If you expect 500 people to attend and you would like to make a $10000 profit for planning the event, how much must each ticket cost?
$60
$33
$42
$53
$62
$62
First determine total cost.
Caterer: Per person = $15 + $10 + $5 = $30 per person
Parking: Per person = $3 per person
Total per person = $33
$33 * 500 people = $16,500
Plus cost of renting venue + band = $2500 + $2000 = $4500
Total (net) cost = $16,500 + $4500 = $21,000
Total (gross) cost = net cost + profit = $21,000 + $10,000 = $31,000
Cost per ticket = Gross cost / # of attendee = $31,000 / 500 = $62
Example Question #2 : Profit Margin
The Widget Company has annual revenues of $150,000. Their expenses over the same time frame was $75,000. What was the percent profit?
30%
75%
50%
60%
25%
50%
Profit = Revenue – Expense
% Profit = $ Profit ÷ $ Total Revenue
% Profit = ($150,000 – $75,000) ÷ $150,000 = 50%
Example Question #3 : Profit Margin
Nicki sold 20 albums at $5 each. How many albums should Minaj sell at $4.50 to earn more than Nicki?
22
24
19
23
25
23
The answer is 23. 23*$4.50 = $103.50, which is more than what Nicki earned.
Example Question #171 : Percentage
During Laura and Anna’s bake sale, 35 brownies, 12 cupcakes and 23 glasses of lemonade were sold. These goods cost $44 for the raw ingredients, and they sold for $79. What is the average profit per item?
$0.70
$0.25
$0.35
$0.50
$1.75
$0.50
Total profit ($35) divided by total items (70) yields the answer of $0.50 profit per item.
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