To find the total amount Dave and Mel paid, apply the taxes to their initial purchases.
Dave paid $15 for a baseball. There was an 8% tax added to this total afterwards. To add the tax to the amount Dave paid, convert the percentage into a decimal:
[tex]8 \div 100 = 0.08[/tex]
Multiply the cost of the baseball by this decimal to find the tax:
[tex]15 \times 0.08 = 1.20[/tex]
Add the tax onto the cost:
[tex]15 + 1.20 = 16.20[/tex]
Dave paid $16.20 in total for the baseball.
Mel paid $20 for a football. There is an 8% tax added to this total afterwards. We already have the decimal for an 8% tax, so we can multiply the football's cost by the decimal:
[tex]20 \times 0.08 = 1.60[/tex]
Add the tax onto the cost:
[tex]20 + 1.60 = 21.60[/tex]
Mel paid $21.60 for the football.
Subtract the bigger cost by the smaller cost:
[tex]21.60 - 16.20 = 5.40[/tex]
There is a $5.40 difference between Dave's and Mel's purchases.
