Question

Federal tax on airline tickets is \(7.5 \%\). How much does a ticket for a round trip to Orlando from Chicago, listed at \(\$ 269\), cost after taxes? A. \(\$ 289.18\) B. \(\$ 299.22\) C. \(\$ 314.29\) D. \(\$ 370.75\)

Short answer

The total cost after taxes is \(\$289.18\). The correct answer is A.

Step-by-step solution

- Determine the Tax Rate

The federal tax rate on airline tickets is given as \(7.5\%\). Convert this percentage into decimal form by dividing by 100: \(0.075\).

- Calculate the Tax Amount

Multiply the listed price of the ticket \(\text{(}$269)}\) by the tax rate \(0.075\) to find the tax amount. \[ 269 \times 0.075 = 20.175 \]

- Find the Total Cost

Add the tax amount to the original ticket price to find the total cost after tax.\[ 269 + 20.175 = 289.175 \]Round to two decimal places: \(289.18\)

- Match with Provided Choices

Compare the calculated total cost \(289.18\) with the available options. The correct answer is option A: \(\text{\$289.18}\).

Key concepts

percentage calculation

Percentage calculation is a fundamental part of solving many math problems, including tax calculations. When you see a percentage, it tells you a fraction out of 100. In this case, the tax rate is given as 7.5%. To use this in calculations, convert it to a decimal by dividing by 100. This means 7.5% becomes 0.075. This step is essential because working with decimals simplifies the multiplication process. Thus, when you calculate 7.5% of \(269, you multiply \)269 by 0.075, which equals 20.175. This number represents the amount of tax to add to the original ticket price.

tax computation

Tax computation involves several steps to ensure you get the correct amount added to the price. First, convert the percentage to a decimal as described earlier. Next, multiply the price by this decimal to find out how much tax you need to pay. In our exercise, we multiplied \(269 by 0.075, which gave us \)20.175. The next step is adding this tax amount to the original price. This means adding \(20.175 to \)269, giving a total of \(289.175. Finally, rounding this number to two decimal places, you get \)289.18. This is the total cost after including the tax.

basic arithmetic

Basic arithmetic forms the basis of many mathematical problems, including our exercise on tax calculation. It includes operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In this problem, after converting the percentage to a decimal, you perform multiplication to find the tax amount. Then, you add this amount to the original price to get the total cost. Here's the step-by-step breakdown:

• Convert percentage to decimal: 7.5% = 0.075
• Multiply to find tax amount: 269 * 0.075 = 20.175
• Add tax to original price: 269 + 20.175 = 289.175

Finally, round this to two decimal places to get $289.18. These basic arithmetic steps are crucial for accurate results in such problems.