Teresa bought 4 CDs that were each the same price. Including sales tax, she paid a total of $46.40. Each CD had a tax of $0.80. What was the price of each CD before tax?

1 answer

Let's denote the price of each CD before tax as \( x \).

Since Teresa bought 4 CDs, the total price before tax for all the CDs would be: \[ 4x \]

Each CD has a sales tax of $0.80, so for 4 CDs, the total sales tax is: \[ 4 \times 0.80 = 3.20 \]

Now, we can write an equation for the total amount Teresa paid, which includes the price of the CDs plus the sales tax: \[ 4x + 3.20 = 46.40 \]

Next, we can isolate \( 4x \) by subtracting the sales tax from the total amount: \[ 4x = 46.40 - 3.20 \] \[ 4x = 43.20 \]

Now, we can solve for \( x \) by dividing both sides by 4: \[ x = \frac{43.20}{4} = 10.80 \]

Thus, the price of each CD before tax is: \[ \boxed{10.80} \]