Question

Difficulty: MediumPercentage Change, Markups, and Discounts

A portrait studio upgrades its lighting equipment. The manufacturer's base price for the lighting kit is $2,400.00\$2,400.00. The regional distributor adds a 25%25\% markup to set the standard retail price. During a promotional event, the studio receives a 12%12\% discount off the standard retail price. What is the final price the studio pays for the lighting kit?

  1. A
    $2,712.00\$2,712.00
  2. B
    $2,988.00\$2,988.00
  3. $2,640.00\$2,640.00Answer
  4. D
    $2,964.00\$2,964.00

Answer

The final price the studio pays for the lighting kit is $2,640.00\$2,640.00.
The correct final price is found by calculating the transactions in sequence. First, a 25% markup on the 2,400.00basepriceadds2,400.00 base price adds 600.00, creating a retail price of 3,000.00.Then,a123,000.00. Then, a 12% discount is applied to that 3,000.00 retail price, which subtracts 360.00,resultinginafinalpriceof360.00, resulting in a final price of 2,640.00.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Calculate the retail price by applying the 25% markup to the manufacturer's base price.
$2,400.00×0.25=$600.00\$2,400.00 \times 0.25 = \$600.00 markup. $2,400.00+$600.00=$3,000.00\$2,400.00 + \$600.00 = \$3,000.00 standard retail price.
The markup is a percentage of the base price and must be added to it to determine the retail price before any discounts can be applied.
2
Calculate the discount amount by applying the 12% discount to the standard retail price.
$3,000.00×0.12=$360.00\$3,000.00 \times 0.12 = \$360.00 discount.
The promotional discount applies to the current retail price, not the original base price.
3
Subtract the discount amount from the retail price to find the final price.
$3,000.00−$360.00=$2,640.00\$3,000.00 - \$360.00 = \$2,640.00.
The final price is the retail price reduced by the calculated discount amount.

Key Concept

Calculating successive percentage changes requires updating the base value after each step. A discount applied after a markup must be calculated using the newly marked-up price.
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