In a percent problem when no values are given, the best strategy is to pick numbers. The easiest number to pick for a percent problem is usually 100. When you have to calculate two or more percent changes, do them one at a time - DO NOT JUST ADD THE PERCENTS! This is not the equivalent of calculating with them separately. So, if the DVD player originally costs $100, and the retailer discounts the price by 20%, you get:
| $100 |
- |
.20 |
( |
$100 |
) |
= |
$100 |
- |
$20 |
= |
$80 |
So $80 is the price after the first discount. The retailer than takes an additional 15% off of this price for clearance, which gives us:
So the price of the DVD player after the additional discount for clearance is $68. $68 is 68% of $100, which makes (B) the correct answer.
So $80 is the price after the first discount. The retailer than takes an additional 15% off of this price for clearance, which gives us:
| $80 |
- |
.15 |
( |
$80 |
) |
= |
$80 |
- |
$12 |
= |
$68 |
So the price of the DVD player after the additional discount for clearance is $68. $68 is 68% of $100, which makes (B) the correct answer.
