Buzz
Calculating discounts is one of the most valuable math skills you can master. This skill is applicable in various situations, such as determining tips at restaurants, calculating sale prices in stores, or setting discount policies for your own products and services. The basic method involves multiplying the original price by the percentage rate. To find the discounted price, subtract the discount amount from the original price. You can use a calculator or mental math to compute the discount.
Steps
Calculate the Discount Amount and Final Price
Convert the percentage rate into a decimal.
Multiply the original price of the shoes by the decimal.
Subtract the discount amount from the original price.Estimate the Discount and Final Sale Price
Round the original sale price to the nearest ten. Use rounding rules to round up or down. This method simplifies the process of determining the discount percentage.
- For example, if the original price of a shirt is $47.89, it would be rounded to $50.00.
Calculate 10 percent of the rounded price.
Determine the number of tens in the discount percentage.
Multiply 10% of the rounded price by the multiplier.
Calculate 5% of the rounded price if necessary. This step is required if the discount percentage ends with 5 instead of 0 (e.g., 35% or 55%). Calculating 5% is straightforward by dividing 10% of the original price by 2, as 5% is half of 10%.
- For example, if 10% of $50 is $5, then 5% of $50 is $2.50, since $2.50 is half of $5.
Add the 5% portion to the discount value if necessary.
Subtract the discount value from the rounded price.Examples
Calculate the exact sale price after discount.
Calculate the price of the camera with a 15% discount.
Estimate the sale price after discount.Advice
- Download a reliable discount calculator app on your phone. Search for keywords like “discount calculator” on Google Play or the App Store. Open the app, set the discount rate, and input the item's price. Click “calculate” to determine the discount amount.
- Alternatively, you can directly compute the discounted price instead of subtracting the discount from the original price. Subtract the discount percentage from 100. For instance, if the discount is 30 percent, the final price will be 70 percent of the original. Use the same method as above to calculate what 70 percent of the original price equates to for the discounted price.
