A meal tax at a restaurant is 5.5%. What is the meal tax on a dinner that costs $24?
Understand the Problem
The question asks us to calculate the meal tax on a dinner given the cost of the dinner and the meal tax percentage. We need to calculate 5.5% of $24.
Answer
$1.32
Answer for screen readers
The meal tax is $1.32.
Steps to Solve
- Convert the percentage to a decimal
To convert a percentage to a decimal, divide it by 100. So, 5.5% becomes $5.5 / 100 = 0.055$.
- Calculate the meal tax
Multiply the cost of the dinner by the decimal equivalent of the meal tax percentage. Meal tax = Cost of dinner $\times$ Meal tax rate
Meal tax = $24 \times 0.055$
Meal tax = $1.32$
The meal tax is $1.32.
More Information
Meal taxes are a common way for cities and states to generate revenue from dining establishments!
Tips
A common mistake is forgetting to convert the percentage to a decimal before multiplying. For example, some might multiply $24 by 5.5$, leading to an incorrect and much larger tax amount. Always remember to divide the percentage by 100 to get its decimal form.
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