SAT Math : Arithmetic

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Math

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store varsity tutors ibooks store

Example Questions

Example Question #4 : How To Find The Amount Of Sales Tax

Lisa just bought a desktop computer. The computer cost $1500, the keyboard cost $100, and the mouse cost $25. If the local sales tax is 7%, what was the total cost of her purchases?

Possible Answers:

\dpi{100} \small \$ 1625

\dpi{100} \small \$ 1800

\dpi{100} \small \$ 1738.75

\dpi{100} \small \$ 1725

\dpi{100} \small \$ 113.75

Correct answer:

\dpi{100} \small \$ 1738.75

Explanation:

Total Tax = \dpi{100} \small (Computer+Keyboard+Mouse)\times 0.07 =

\dpi{100} \small (1500+100+25)\times 0.07

\dpi{100} \small (1625)\times 0.07=113.75

Total Cost = Computer + Keyboard + Mouse + Tax = \dpi{100} \small 1625 + 113.75 = \$ 1738.75

Example Question #3 : How To Find The Amount Of Sales Tax

Mike spent $30 on food and $50 on non-food products in the supermarket. There's a sales tax of 10% on non-food products only. How much did Mike spend in total at the supermarket?

Possible Answers:

\$80

\$90

\$85

\$88

\$83

Correct answer:

\$85

Explanation:

Since sales tax is only applicable to non-food products only, we can multiply 50 by 1.1 to get the total price of non-food products. In this case, it is $55. Add this value to the $30 spent on food for a total of $85.

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Amount Of Sales Tax

A dealership is selling a used car with a sticker price of . If state sales tax is , how much will the taxes on purchasing the car be?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The amount paid in sales tax is determined by multiplying the decimal value of the tax rate by the sticker price of the car:

Example Question #2 : Sales Tax

Jenny buys a blouse that is priced at $45. She pays a total of $48.15, what is the rate of tax on the blouse?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The purpose of this question is to calculate tax rates using dollar amounts.

First, the amount of tax payed must be determined. This is done by finding the difference between the amount paid and the listed price

,

which equals $3.15.

Then, that must be translated into a percentage of $45.

Therefore,

, yielding .07 of 1. This is a 7% tax rate.

Example Question #7 : Sales Tax

Billy is buying from a sudden inflated economy.  Suppose a sales tag shows the price of a shirt to be .  Right at checkout, the cashier charged Billy a hefty sales tax that made the shirt cost .  What percent was this sales tax?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to answer this question, we need to set up an equation such that we are adding the cost of the shirt with some percentage of the shirt's cost that will equal the final price.

A percentage is some value out of 100 parts.  

Write the equation.  We will solve for , which represents the percentage.

Subtract 2 from both sides and eliminate the dollar signs.

Reduce the left hand side of the equation.

Multiply by 50 on both sides.

This number is the percentage sales tax that was applied to the shirt.

The answer is:  

Example Question #291 : Arithmetic

Todd is buying a laptop that is discounted by 20%. Included in the amount he pays is a 7% sales tax on the discounted price. If the original price of the laptop is $995 (before the discount) what is the total amount that Todd pays, rounded to the nearest cent?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If a $995 computer is discounted by 20%, that means its new price is 80% of its original price.

We can find the new price by multiplying $995 by .8, which gives us $796.

If Todd must also pay a 7% sales on the discounted price, we can find his total amount by multiplying $796 by 1.07, which gives us $851.72.

Example Question #292 : Arithmetic

Dan took out a $1200 loan at a rate of 3% simple interest a year. What is the amount of interest accrued for one month?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

$1200 is the amount that he took out.

3% annually would yield an interest amount of $36.

Therefore, each month, he would be paying $3 a month.

Example Question #293 : Arithmetic

Peter wanted to buy a car and borrowed $2,500 from the bank at 5% simple interest per year.  He was able to pay back the loan in one lump sum at six months.  What was the total amount he paid the bank?

Possible Answers:

\$3250.75

\$2562.50

\$2625.50

\$3000

\$2750.25

Correct answer:

\$2562.50

Explanation:

Simple interest is given by i=prt where i = interest, p = principal, r = rate, and t = time in years.

i=2500\cdot (0.05)(0.5)=\$62.50

Remember, six months is the same as half of a year.  The total paid back to the bank is the principle plus the interest, or $2,562.50.

Example Question #3 : How To Find Simple Interest

I have $100 in my bank. After one year, I have withdrawn a total of $20 and I still have $85 in the bank. What is the yearly interest rate of my bank account?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since I have withdrawn $20, that means I only have $80 in my account.

 imples that

which is 6.25%.

Example Question #1181 : Sat Mathematics

You really want to buy a car that costs $15,000 but you only have $5,000 saved. Rather than getting a bank loan, your parents offer to lend you the extra money but will require you to pay them back with 4.3% interest. How much will car cost in total after you have paid your parents back?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Amount borrowed = $15,000  $5,000 = $10,000

Interest of 4.3% = $10,000 * 0.043 = $430

Total cost of car = $5000 + $10000 + $430 = $15,430

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors