# Math Help - Was it my mistake?

1. ## Was it my mistake?

Hello,

I'm a student in distance education programm. I had a math exam and got 1 mistake. I tried to analyze my mistake but didn't understand. English is my second language and that is the reason why I ask this question.

Could you please point me which part of word problem I have misinterpreted?

Johnson earns $200 a week plus a 15% commission on all sales over$1,000. If Mr.
Johnson's sales for one week are $2,500, what is his gross pay for that week? A.$350
B. $425 C.$525
D. $575 15%=0.15$2500*0.15=$375 ... this is his commission money$200 ... this is his weekly pay

$575 ... this is his gross pay So the answer SHOULD be D.$575, but it's not... it's B.

2. Originally Posted by mathquestion
Hello,

I'm a student in distance education programm. I had a math exam and got 1 mistake. I tried to analyze my mistake but didn't understand. English is my second language and that is the reason why I ask this question.

Could you please point me which part of word problem I have misinterpreted?

Johnson earns $200 a week plus a 15% commission on all sales over$1,000. If Mr.
Johnson's sales for one week are $2,500, what is his gross pay for that week? A.$350
B. $425 C.$525
D. $575 15%=0.15$2500*0.15=$375 ... this is his commission money$200 ... this is his weekly pay

$575 ... this is his gross pay So the answer SHOULD be D.$575, but it's not... it's B.
Sales OVER $1000.$2500 - $1000 =$1500

He only gets commision on the $1500. Try it again now. 3. Originally Posted by janvdl Sales OVER$1000.

$2500 -$1000 = $1500 He only gets commision on the$1500. Try it again now.
Well it's bit hard concept for me yes I know it looks stupid but I'll try to explain how I understood it.

I've seen many times in shops specials deals like ''buy something over $50 and get 10% off'' and always it's off of whole$50 and never like this:

(total-$50) - 10% I hope that my humble English made any sense 4. Originally Posted by mathquestion Well it's bit hard concept for me yes I know it looks stupid but I'll try to explain how I understood it. I've seen many times in shops specials deals like ''buy something over$50 and get 10% off'' and always it's off of whole $50 and never like this: (total-$50) - 10%

I hope that my humble English made any sense
Your English is fine. In my eyes anyway, seeing as it's my second language too

plus a 15% commission on all sales over $1,000 It says all the sales OVER$1000. That implies that only the sales over $1000 get him commision. 5. I don't want to get on your nerves... When advertisment states ''5% discount on all sales over$100'', does it means that if I shop for $101 I'll get only$0.05?

I'm confused because I've used discounts and specials deals many times and I didn't have even one situation when precents where calculated only from remainder.

It's always

$100> pay whole sum$100< get discount for whole sum because it's OVER $100 This is reason why I want to make sure that i really understand 6. Originally Posted by mathquestion I don't want to get on your nerves... When advertisment states ''5% discount on all sales over$100'', does it means that if I shop for $101 I'll get only$0.05?

I'm confused because I've used discounts and specials deals many times and I didn't have even one situation when precents where calculated only from remainder.

It's always

$100> pay whole sum$100< get discount for whole sum because it's OVER $100 This is reason why I want to make sure that i really understand This situation just works differently. Usually a shop also says: "10% discount when you spend$50 or more"
That means the discount kicks in when you spend that amount.