Question

suppose you pay $24 for a pair of shoes that have been discounted 20%. what is the original price of the shoes

Answer 1

It would be $30
20% is 1/5
30/5= 6
30-6=24

Answer 2

well lets say it was 50% off.. that means you only payed half
so if its 20% off that means you only payed 80% of the original
but to do a problem like this its best to set up a proportion
24/x = 4/5
the 4/5 is how much was actually payed since 1/5 was taken away...
then solve for x
24= 4x/5
120=4x
30=x