Target is having a Back to School sale where all polo shirts are discounted by 20%. Joshua wants to buy five shirts: two cost $10.98 each, one costs $11.50, and two others cost $15.99 each.

By law, sales tax is calculated on the discounted price of the shirts. Would the total cost of the shirts including the 6.5% sales tax be greater if the tax was applied before a 20% discount is taken, rather than after a 20% discount is taken?

Thoroughly explain your reasoning. I suggest you use the price of the shirts to support your reasoning.

Both cases will give the same price

Step-by-step explanation:

Total purchase that Joshua do will be:

2* $10.98 + 1 * $11.50 + 2* $15.99 = $65.44

Now we compare the price for both scenarios.

Scenario 1. If the tax added before discount

Taxed price $65.44 * (100+6.5)% =$69.6936

Discounted price= $69.6936* (100-20)%= $55.75488

Scenario 2. If the tax added after the discount

Discounted price= $65.44 * (100-20)%= $52.352

Taxed price $52.352 * (100+6.5%) = 55.75488

Both prices will be the same since there is only one operation being used and executed in these calculations. The operation we use in the calculations is multiplication.