Winona and Takoda are shopping for a present for their mother. The chart shows several possible presents. There is no sales tax in the state where they live. Present Cost ($) Discount (%) Total Paid ($) Power tools d dollars 15% Water skis d + 15 dollars 25% Jewelry d – 15 dollars 10% Write two expressions in terms of d to show how much Winona and Takoda would pay in total if they bought their mother the set of power tools. What does the expression 0.90(d – 5) refer to? How do you know? How else could this expression be written? Choose a value for d that is greater than $25 and less than $100. Calculate the total cost of each of the possible presents for the value you chose. Then write a short paragraph telling Winona and Takoda which present they should buy and explaining why.

2 answers

Winona and Takoda are shopping for a present for their mother. The chart shows several possible presents. There is no sales tax in the state where they live. Present Cost ($) Discount (%) Total Paid ($) Power tools d dollars 15% Water skis d + 15 dollars 25% Jewelry d – 15 dollars 10% Write two expressions in terms of d to show how much Winona and Takoda would pay in total if they bought their mother the set of power tools. What does the expression 0.90(d – 5) refer to? How do you know? How else could this expression be written? Choose a value for d that is greater than $25 and less than $100. Calculate the total cost of each of the possible presents for the value you chose. Then write a short paragraph telling Winona and Takoda which present they should buy and explaining why.
To calculate the total amount Winona and Takoda would pay if they bought their mother the set of power tools, two expressions in terms of d can be used:

1) Total Paid with a 15% discount:
Total Paid = d - 0.15d = 0.85d

2) Total Paid without a discount:
Total Paid = d

The expression 0.90(d - 5) refers to the total paid when there is a 10% discount subtracted from the original cost (d), and a further $5 reduction. The expression can also be written as 0.90d - 4.5.

Let's choose d = $50 as a value that is greater than $25 and less than $100.

For power tools:
Total Paid with a 15% discount = 0.85 * 50 = $42.50
Total Paid without a discount = $50

For water skis:
Total Paid with a 25% discount = 0.75 * (50 + 15) = $44.25

For jewelry:
Total Paid with a 10% discount = 0.90 * (50 - 15) = $31.50

Based on the calculations, I would suggest that Winona and Takoda buy their mother the set of power tools. The total cost of the power tools is $50, and since there is no discount for this present, they only have to pay the full price. The water skis have a 25% discount, but the jewelry has a 10% discount. In terms of cost, the power tools would be the most expensive option, but it would be a gift that their mother might find more useful and long-lasting compared to water skis or jewelry.