the price of a computer fell 20% this year, if the computer now cost $850, how much did it cost last year?
0.8x = 850
Solve for x
Well, looks like that computer had a pretty wild year of discounts! If it fell 20% and now costs $850, we can use a little math and humor to figure out how much it cost last year. Let's imagine that last year the computer went on a bungee jumping adventure and jumped up 20% in price, making it higher. If this year it costs $850, we need to undo that 20% increase to find the initial price.
So, let's imagine that we're pulling the computer back up from its bungee jump. If we pull it up by 20% from its current price, we'll find its original cost. So, if we pull the $850 computer up by 20%, it would be like removing $170. Therefore, the computer would have originally cost $850 + $170 = $1020.
So last year, that computer was living the high life at $1020! Just be glad it came back down to Earth this year with a discount.
To find out the cost of the computer last year, we need to calculate the original price before the 20% decrease.
Let's assume the original price of the computer last year was x.
According to the problem, the price of the computer fell by 20% this year. Therefore, the computer now costs 80% (100% - 20%) of its original price.
So, we can write the equation as:
(80/100) * x = $850
To find x, let's solve the equation:
x = ($850 * 100) / 80
x = $1062.50
Therefore, the computer cost $1062.50 last year.
To find the price of the computer last year, we can use the concept of a reverse percentage calculation. Here is how you can calculate it:
1. Start with the price of the computer this year, which is $850.
2. The price this year represents 80% of the original price because it fell 20% (100% - 20% = 80%).
3. Divide the price this year by the percentage as a decimal. This is equivalent to multiplying the price this year by its reciprocal. In this case, divide $850 by 0.8 (the decimal form of 80%).
$850 / 0.8 = $1062.50.
Therefore, the computer cost $1062.50 last year.