To find the sales tax for a computer hard disk drive costing \[tex]$256.25 with a sales tax rate of \( 9 \frac{1}{2} \% \), follow these steps:
1. Convert the percentage to a decimal:
\[
9 \frac{1}{2} \% = 9.5 \% = \frac{9.5}{100} = 0.095
\]
2. Calculate the sales tax:
Multiply the cost of the hard disk drive by the decimal form of the tax rate.
\[
\text{Sales tax} = \$[/tex]256.25 \times 0.095 = \[tex]$24.34375
\]
3. Round the sales tax to the nearest cent:
Since we want the result to be in dollars and cents, we need to round \$[/tex]24.34375 to the nearest cent.
[tex]\[
24.34375 \text{ rounds to } 24.34
\][/tex]
Thus, the sales tax you must pay on the purchase of the computer hard disk drive is \$24.34.
