How to Solve Discount Problems

BY CIVIL SERVICE REVIEWER JUNE 5, 2014

DISCOUNTS
New Price=Old Price-Discount
Discount=Discount Rate*Old Price
Example: How much should you pay for a shoe initially priced at P500 and was given a discount of 20%?
Discount= (20/100)*500=100
New Price=500-100=P400

Tackle discount problems.

The tag price that you see on items are their marked price. The sale price is the price that you pay after the discount
has been made. If an item costs Php100 (marked price) and has a 10% discount, then you have to subtract the 10%
of 100 from 100. Therefore, that item will cost Php100 Php10 = Php90. Php90 is the sale price.discount problems
Note that in solving discount problems, you must know how to convert percent to decimals. You need to convert
percent to decimals (just divide by 100) in order to perform the calculation.

1. A movie DVD which costs 600 is marked 25% off. What is the discount? What is its sale price?
Solution
Discount = 25% of Php600 or (Php600 0.25) = Php150.00
Sale price = Php600 Php150 = Php450.00
So, the discount is Php150 and the sale price is Php450.
Note that 0.25 is the decimal equivalent of 25%.

2. Anna shops in an international store. A t-shirt with a tag price $42 is marked save 20%. How much will Anna
have to pay for the t-shirt if she were to buy it?
Solution
Discount = 20% of $42 or ($42 0.20) = $8.40
Sale Price = $42.00 $8.40 = $33.60
Therefore, Anna will have to pay $33.60 if she wants to buy the t-shirt.
Although it seldom happens in the real world, a discounted price might also be given in a Civil Service Exam
problem. In this type of problem, the task is to find the original price (marked price) like the problem below.

3. After getting a 10% discount, Nina bought a sofa for only 7200. What was the original price of the sofa?
Solution
We can use this equation to solve the problem above.
Marked Price Discount Price = Sale Price
Now, if we let x be the marked price of the sofa, then the discount price is 10% multiplied by x or 0.1x.
So, substituting to the equation above, we have
x - 0.1x = 7200
0.9x = 7200
To eliminate the decimal point, multiply both sides by 10.
9x = 72000
Dividing both sides by 9, we have 8000.
Therefore, the marked price of the sofa is Php8000. In the next post, we will discuss about strategies and short-cuts
in solving discount problems.
Now that you have understood that concept of discount, you may want to read about the strategies and shortcuts on
how to solve discount problems or take a quiz on discount problems.

Strategies in Solving Discount Problems

1. A movie DVD which costs 600 is marked 25% off. What is the discount? What is its sale price?
Discussion
In the previous post, we used decimals to solve this problem. However, percentages like 25%, 50%, 75%, 10%, 75%
and the like are easy to convert to fractions. If you are familiar with their equivalent fractions, it is easier to solve the
problem above.
Solution
The equivalent of 25% is 1/4 and 1/4 is half of half. So, half of 600 is 300 and half of 300 is 150. Therefore, the
discount is P150 and the sale price is P600-150 = Php450.
You see, you can solve the problem above mentally.
2. Anna shops in an international store. A t-shirt with a tag price $42 is marked save 20%. How much will Anna
have to pay for the t-shirt if she were to buy it?
Discussion
In the previous post, we multiplied $42 by 0.2 (or 20%), then subtract the result from 42. Note that if you subtract
the percentage first, the calculation will be easier. That is, if the discount is 20%, then, we only have 20 pay 80%.
Therefore, we just have to multiply 0.8 by 42.
Solution
The discount is 20% so we only need to pay 80% of the $42. So, (42)(0.8) = 33.60. This means that the sale price is
$33.60.
3. After getting a 10% discount, Nina bought a sofa for only 7200. What was the original price of the sofa?
Discussion
Again, like in Problem 1, it is faster to convert 10% to fraction. The discount is 1/10, so this means that Nina only
paid 9/10 of the original price. So, we can set up the equation \frac{9}{10}x = 7200.
Solution
The discount of the sofa was 1/10, therefore, Nica paid 9/10 of the price which is 7200. Setting up the equation, we
have
\frac{9}{10}x = 7200
9x = 72000
x = 8000
So, the sofa cost Php8000.00

Discount Problem Quiz

After learning the how to solve discount problems and the strategies how to solve them, it is now your turn to solve
discount problems.
1. You were walking and saw the following sign in a shoe shop. How much is the discount and sale price of a shoes
worth Php1600.00? Answer
Discount is 640 pesos, sale price is 960 pesos

2. A coffee shop label its 1 cup of frappuccino 10% discount. If 1 cup of frappucino costs Php150, how much will
the customer pay upon ordering?
Answer
Php135.00

3. After a 10% discount has been made, a necklace costs Php5400.00. What is the original price of the necklace
before the discount has been deducted?
Answer
Php6000.00

4. A popular mall placed a big up to 40% off streamer in front of its entrance. You are planning to buy a television
worth Php21, 550. What is the lowest possible amount that you will pay if you buy the television?
Answer
Php12930.00

5. You want to buy a mountain in a bicycle shop where you saw a 15% off flyer. The price of the bike was
Php26350.00. You asked the owner what will be price after the discount and he replied that the tag price was the
discounted price. What was the original price of the bike?
Answer
Php31000.00

6. What is the sale price of a laptop worth Php42000.00 which has a 5% discount?
Answer
Php39900.00
7. A plate is worth Php120 each. The shop owner told you that he will give you a 10% discount of the total price if
you buy 1 dozen. How much will you have to pay if you buy one dozen of the plates?
Answer
Php1296.00

8. After getting an 8% discount, a jacket costs 690. What is the original price?
Answer
Php750.00

9. You saw a cellular phone company placed a 5% off on all items commercial on television. How much will you
have to pay for a cellular phone whose price is Php5250.00?
Answer
Php4987.50

10. You saved 200 pesos for buying an external hard drive which is marked 5% discount. How much was the
price of the hard without the discount?
Answer
Php4000.00