Concept

Mark-up Applications in Percent Problems

A mark-up is an increase added to the wholesale (or cost) price of an item to determine its retail selling price, typically expressed as a percent of the wholesale cost. Two key relationships govern mark-up problems:

  1. Amount of mark-up:

amount of mark-up=mark-up rate×wholesale cost\text{amount of mark-up} = \text{mark-up rate} \times \text{wholesale cost}

  1. List (selling) price:

list price=wholesale cost+amount of mark-up\text{list price} = \text{wholesale cost} + \text{amount of mark-up}

The mark-up rate is a percent that must be converted to decimal form before multiplying. For example, if a store purchases a lamp at a wholesale cost of $40\$40 and applies a 55%55\% mark-up, the mark-up amount is 0.55×40=220.55 \times 40 = 22, so the list price is 40+22=$6240 + 22 = \$62. To solve mark-up word problems, identify the given quantities (wholesale cost, mark-up rate, mark-up amount, or list price), set up the corresponding equation, and solve for the unknown. Like discount calculations, mark-up problems are a direct application of the basic percent equation structure: the mark-up amount "is" a certain percent "of" the wholesale cost.

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Updated 2026-05-03

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