You are in a store and want to ensure you have enough cash for an unplanned purchase you need to be able to calculate the sales tax for your purchase without a calculator identify a situation that would fit into this scenario and explain how you would organize this calculation to solve it without a calculator assume a 5% sales tax rate for full credit you will need the cost of the item and explanation of how you would calculate the sales tax and the total cost

1 answer

Scenario:
You are in a clothing store and find a shirt that you really like. The shirt is labeled as $20.00. However, you need to calculate the sales tax and determine the total cost without using a calculator.

To solve this calculation, follow these steps:

Step 1: Determine the sales tax rate.
In this scenario, the sales tax rate is 5%, as stated in the question.

Step 2: Convert the percentage to a decimal.
To convert 5% to a decimal, divide it by 100: 5/100 = 0.05.

Step 3: Calculate the sales tax amount.
Take the cost of the item ($20.00) and multiply it by the sales tax rate (0.05).
$20.00 * 0.05 = $1.00

Step 4: Calculate the total cost.
Add the sales tax amount to the original cost of the item.
Total cost = $20.00 + $1.00 = $21.00

Therefore, without using a calculator, the sales tax for the item priced at $20.00 would be $1.00, and the total cost including sales tax would be $21.00.