The price of a box of floor tiles at a builders' merchant increased by 12% this year. The box now costs $56. Work out the price of the box of tiles last yea...
Question 1 Report
The price of a box of floor tiles at a builders' merchant increased by 12% this year. The box now costs $56.
Work out the price of the box of tiles last year, before the increase. (3)
Answer Details
A price that has increased by a percentage is now that percentage more than 100% of the original, so the current price is the original price multiplied by the growth multiplier; dividing by that multiplier reverses the increase.
The multiplier for a 12% increase is \(1.12\). [1 mark]
Last year's price \( = 56 \div 1.12 = 50\). [1 mark]
So the box of tiles cost \(\$50\) last year. [1 mark]
A common error is subtracting 12% of \(\$56\) from \(\$56\) instead of dividing; that method wrongly treats the 12% as a fraction of this year's price rather than of the smaller original price, and gives a different, incorrect answer.
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