Every item in the Just a Dollar store is priced at $1.00. When Mary Jo opens the store, there is $125.50 in the cash register. When she counts the money in the cash register at the end of the day, the total is 1,058.60. If the sales tax rate is 8.5%, how many items were sold that day?

I need to make an equation and solve it. I tried 1058.60-125.50 (0.085) = X, but that didn't work and then I tried 1058.60 (0.085) - 125.50=X and that didn't work either so im at a loss.

Step-by-step explanation:

If Jo started market with $125.5, then she won't pay tax on that cash at hand. He has probably pay the tax the previous day.

At the end of the day he counted $1058.60, this implies that the cash at hand and the sales for the day is $1058.60.

Therefore the sales for the day which he is going to pay tax on is

$1058.60-$125.50=$933.1

Therefore the sales for the day is 933.1

So he is going to pay a tax of 8.5% on the sales of $933.1

Revenue is generated on each item sold, so for every 1 dollar item a revenue of 8.5% is generated

Therefore the equation becomes

933.1=x + 8.5% of x

x is the number of items

933.1 = x + 0.085x

933.1 = 1.085x

Therefore x = 933.1/1.085

x=860

860 items are sold in the store