# help plese ;[

• Jan 14th 2007, 02:17 PM
u.........
help plese ;[
Another math problem im stuck on.

the price of a dress is reduced by 40%. when the dress still doesnt not sell, it is reduced by 40% again.

The reduced price after both reduction is $72. What was the original price? • Jan 14th 2007, 02:43 PM Soroban Hello, urlostaznbro! Quote: The price of a dress is reduced by 40%. When the dress still doesnt not sell, it is reduced by 40% again. The reduced price after both reduction is$72.
What was the original price?

Let's baby-talk our way through it . . .

Let $x$ = original price of the dress.

It is reduced by 40%, so the sale price is 60% of $x:\;\;0.60x$

The dress doesn't sell, so it is reduced by another 40%.
The final price is $60\%$ of $0.60x:\;\;(0.60)(0.60x) \:=\:0.36x$
. . which is equal to $\72$.

And there is our equation: . $0.36x\:=\:72 \quad\Rightarrow\quad x \:=\:200$

Therefore, the original price was $\200$.

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Check

$\begin{array}{ccccc}\text{Original price:} & \200 \\
\text{less 40}\%: & -80\\
\text{Sale price:} & \120\\
\text{less 40}\%: & -48\\
\text{Final price:} & \72\end{array}$