After 20% price reduction, a cordless phones sold for $48. What was the phone's price before the reduction?

initial value of phone is $ 60

Step-by-step explanation:

Step 1

let x = initial price of phone before reduction

Step 2

write a equation in x which models the condition

after 20% reduction phone price is $ 48

x - 0.2x = 48 (1)

Step 3

solve the equation and answer the question

x (1-0.2) = 48

0.80x = 48

we factor out x at the left side

divide both side with 0.80 we get

0.80x / 0.80 = 48 / 0.80

x = 60

we found that initial value of phone is $ 60

Step 4

we check the proposed solution into the original problem

we apply the reduction to initial price which we computed in equation 1 put value of x we get

60-0.20*60 = 60-12 = 48

hence we got the same price that is $ 48 so solution is correct