Question

ABC Office Supply offers an electric typewriter for $129.95. If ABC received a 15% markup on cost by selling the typewriter at this price, what was the cost of the typewriter to ABC?

Answer 1

To find the cost of the typewriter to ABC, we can use the relationship between the cost, the selling price, and the markup.

Let \( C \) be the cost of the typewriter. ABC Office Supply sells the typewriter for $129.95, and they have a 15% markup on cost. This means the selling price is equal to the cost plus 15% of the cost. We can express this mathematically as:

\[
\text{Selling Price} = C + 0.15C
\]

This simplifies to:

\[
\text{Selling Price} = 1.15C
\]

Now, we can set this equal to the selling price of $129.95:

\[
1.15C = 129.95
\]

To find \( C \), divide both sides by 1.15:

\[
C = \frac{129.95}{1.15}
\]

Calculating that gives:

\[
C \approx 113.00
\]

Thus, the cost of the typewriter to ABC was approximately **$113.00**.