Problem-Solving and Data AnalysisVery hardOriginal price from two successive discounts
Problem-Solving and Data Analysis practice question
A coat's price was reduced by 10%, and the reduced price was then reduced by a further 15%. The final price is $153. What was the original price, in dollars?
Answer: 200
The two reductions multiply the price by 0.90 × 0.85 = 0.765. So 0.765 × original = 153, giving original = 153/0.765 = 200.
Common wrong answers
- If you answered 180
- 180 undoes only the 15% (153/0.85), forgetting the 10%.
- If you answered 204
- 204 is 153/0.75, combining the discounts as a single 25%. Successive percents multiply: 0.9 × 0.85 = 0.765.
- If you answered 191.25
- 191.25 is 153 × 1.25, adding 25% back instead of dividing.
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