Basic Math/Purchases

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Expert: Josh - 8/16/2008


Question
Hello:

Here is my question:
During a "One Cent Sale" a drug store offers two articles of the same kind for the regular price of one plus 1 cent. How much is saved by buying during the sale 2 tubes of tooth paste regularly priced at 55 cents and 2 bottles of shampoo at 75 cents?

The answer is $1.28.

I have not been able to completely understand the question. Perhaps you can help.

I thank you for your reply.

Answer
Kenneth,

We are buying 2 tubes of toothpaste and 2 bottles of shampoo. To finding the saving, we need to calculate the combined cost of buying these items (i.e., 2 x toothpaste + 2 x shampoo)
a) under regular pricing,
b) when the special deal applies;

a) Regular price:
2 x 0.55 + 2 x 0.75

b) Special deal:  (pay one cent for the second item)
(0.55 + 0.01) + (0.75 + 0.01)

The saving is given by the difference.

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Josh

Expertise

When I work through problems, I like to emphasize concepts which I believe are worth noting. I will try to answer questions in the following areas, but not at the advanced level. Algebra. Sequences & Series. Trigonometry. Functions & Graphs. Coordinate Geometry. Quadratic Polynomials. Exponential & Logarithms. Basic Calculus. Probability, Permutation and Combination. Mathematical Induction. Complex numbers. Physics problems.

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I have worked as a teaching assistant in college. My hope is that more people will share knowledge without boundary, give help without seeking recognition or monetary rewards.

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Bachelor degree in Engineering Science

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