In a price problem, after you have subtracted the percentage from 100%, you

• A. convert that percent to a decimal
• B. add 1
• C. multiply by 100
• D. divide by 10

Answer: (A)

When you’re dealing with a discount, you first find the portion of the price that remains by subtracting the discount percentage from 100%. That remaining percent shows the fraction of the original price you’ll actually pay. To apply it to money, convert that percent to a decimal (divide by 100) and multiply the original price by that decimal. For example, a 25% discount leaves 75% of the price, which converts to 0.75; multiplying $200 by 0.75 gives $150. That’s why converting to a decimal is the natural next step. The other options don’t produce a usable multiplier for the price: adding 1 would imply a gain rather than a discount, multiplying by 100 would leave you in percent, and dividing by 10 isn’t the correct transformation for applying the discount.