Question

A store is selling a black pair of shoes for $79.45 and a brown pair of shoes for $133.99. The black pair of shoes is marked up by 44%, and the brown pair of shoes is marked down by 21%. Which pair of shoes is more expensive, and how much more expensive is it? Round all dollar values to the nearest cent.
a.
The black pair costs $6.82 more than the brown pair.
b.
The black pair costs $8.56 more than the brown pair.
c.
The brown pair costs $9.72 more than the black pair.
d.
The brown pair costs $12.54 more than the black pair.

Answer 1

Interpret the given prices as the original prices before the change.

Black final price = 79.45 × (1 + 0.44) = 79.45 × 1.44 = 114.408 → $114.41
Brown final price = 133.99 × (1 − 0.21) = 133.99 × 0.79 = 105.8521 → $105.85

Difference = 114.41 − 105.85 = 8.56

Answer: b. The black pair costs $8.56 more than the brown pair.