Question

shirts are on sale for 20% off. you buy two of them. as you pay, the cashier says, \20% off of each shirt means 40% off of the total price.\ decide whether you agree or disagree with this statement about percentages. explain your reasoning. you can start your response with: • i agree/disagree with this statement because... respond in 2 to 3 complete sentences.

Explanation:

I disagree with this statement because a 20% discount on each shirt applies to the price of each individual shirt, not the total. If each shirt costs $x$, two shirts at full price are $2x$. With 20% off each, the total becomes $2x - 0.2x - 0.2x = 1.6x$, which is a 20% discount on the total (since $2x - 1.6x = 0.4x$, and $\frac{0.4x}{2x}=0.2$ or 20% off total), not 40%.

Answer:

I disagree with this statement because a 20% discount per shirt affects each shirt's price, so for two shirts, the total discount is still 20% of the total price (e.g., two $10 shirts: 20% off each gives $16 total, a $4 discount which is 20% of $20, not 40%).