Suppose the local sales tax rate is $6.5\%$ and you buy a car for $\$12,500$. What is the car's total cost?
Hint: Find how much tax is due first.

• A. $\$14562.5$
• B. $\$12506.5$
• C. $\$13312.5$
• D. $\$14000$

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the given values: the sales tax rate is 6.5%, and the price of the car is \$12,500.
2. Convert the sales tax rate from a percentage to a decimal by dividing by 100: calculate \$6.5 \div 100$ to get the decimal form.
3. Calculate the amount of sales tax by multiplying the car's price by the decimal tax rate: use the formula \(\text{Tax} = \text{Price} \times \text{Tax Rate}\), which becomes \$12500 \times 0.065$.
4. Find the total cost of the car by adding the sales tax to the original price: use the formula \(\text{Total Cost} = \text{Price} + \text{Tax}\).
5. Write the final expression for the total cost without calculating the numerical value yet: \$12500 + (12500 \times 0.065)$.