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Question

Once sales tax is included, an $81 suitcase ends up costing $87.48. What is the sales tax percentage?

Write your answer using a percent sign (%).

Answer 1

To find the sales tax percentage, we can start by determining the amount of sales tax added to the suitcase's original price.

1. Calculate the sales tax amount: \[ \text{Sales Tax Amount} = \text{Total Cost} - \text{Original Price} = 87.48 - 81 = 6.48 \]

2. Now, we can find the sales tax percentage relative to the original price: \[ \text{Sales Tax Percentage} = \left( \frac{\text{Sales Tax Amount}}{\text{Original Price}} \right) \times 100 \] \[ \text{Sales Tax Percentage} = \left( \frac{6.48}{81} \right) \times 100 \]

3. Calculate the fraction: \[ \frac{6.48}{81} \approx 0.08 \]

4. Now multiply by 100 to convert to a percentage: \[ 0.08 \times 100 \approx 8 \]

Therefore, the sales tax percentage is approximately:

\[ \boxed{8%} \]