Ugh, algebra

[telophase]

OK, I am rather NOT ashamed to admit I retain about zilch of my algebra. *insert melodramatic cries of "But I am an artist!!!" here*

ETA: solved. :)

I'm trying to work out what the real price of an item should be if that price plus sales tax makes a round number. (i.e., I really don't want to mess with change at A-Kon, and I don't want to eat the sales tax, either.)

So ... if the final round number price is $8.00 and the sales tax rate is 8.25%, what should the "real" price be? I think I can dredge up enough knowledge to set up the equation, but not enough to actually solve it correctly, because I seem to end up with the answer being the tax rate on $1.00 when I try.

It *should* be: X + X(.0825) = 8

I think.

*headache*

Help appreciated, as well an explanation of what you did, so I can repeat it for 2 more prices, plzkthnx.



Honestly, you'd never know I went all the way through calculus in highschool, with a B average. Well, except for calculus in which I received a C by dint of hard work. Mine is not a math brain. But then again, my college majors didn't require any more math if you'd taken calculus, so I haven't done much math beyond calculating tips etc. since highschool, which probably explains a lot.

and I still got a 640 the first time and a 500ish the second time on the math part of the GRE. Go me!

Comments

Re: many small steps

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I believe ya. :D But I shall keep the explanation and look at it intently, because it really rather bothers me that I don't remember the steps involved in doing an equation this simple, and I probably can't always rely on Livejournal to be there for me. :D

Plus, it will keep my mother, the retired math teacher, from mocking me. :D

Re: many small steps

[solarbird]

I made a typo, foo. I wrote:

Since 1.0.085 = 1.085, This reduces further to:

It should have been this:

Since 1+0.085 = 1.085, This reduces further to:

to wit: oops, sorry