A business owner plans to purchase the same model of chair for each of the 81 employees. The total budget

Question

A business owner plans to purchase the same model of chair for each of the $81$ employees. The total budget to spend on these chairs is $dollar sign 14,000$ , which includes a $7 percent sign$ sales tax. Which of the following is closest to the maximum possible price per chair, before sales tax, the business owner could pay based on this budget?

A.

$dollar sign 148.15$

B.

$dollar sign 161.53$

C.

$dollar sign 172.84$

D.

$dollar sign 184.94$

Accepted Answer

Choice B is correct. It&rsquo;s given that a business owner plans to purchase 81 chairs. If p is the price per chair, the total price of purchasing 81 chairs is 81 p . It&rsquo;s also given that 7 % sales tax is included, which is equivalent to 81 p multiplied by 1.07 , or 81 ( 1.07 ) p . Since the total budget is $ 14,000 , the inequality representing the situation is given by 81 ( 1.07 ) p d 14,000 . Dividing both sides of this inequality by 81 ( 1.07 ) and rounding the result to two decimal places gives p d 161.53 . To not exceed the budget, the maximum possible price per chair is $ 161.53 . Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors. Choice C is incorrect. This is the maximum possible price per chair including sales tax, not the maximum possible price per chair before sales tax. Choice D is incorrect. This is the maximum possible price if the sales tax is added to the total budget, not the maximum possible price per chair before sales tax.

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