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Question

A jacket and a shirt originally sold for 80 dollars and 40 dollars, respectively. During a sale Chris bought the 80 dollar jacket at a 40% discount and the 40 dollar shirt at a 55% discount. The total amount saved was what percent of the total of the original prices?

Accepted Answer

Chris would have spent 40 + 80 = 120 dollars if there were no sale. The sale means that he saved 80(0.40) + 40(0.55) = 32 + 22 = 54 dollars. He saved 54120 100% = 0.45 100% = 45% off the total of the original prices, and the answer is 45%.