Answer
The total amount charged to Portia's credit card is around $31.91 dollars.
Work Step by Step
1. Cost of the two CDs
Let $C=$ cost of the two CDs
$C = 2 \times 14.98$
$C = 29.96$ dollars
2. Cost of the CD tax
Let $T =$ cost of the CD tax (per CD)
$T = 14.98 \times \frac{6.5}{100}$
$T = 14.98 \times .065$
$T = 0.9737$ dollars per CD (tax)
Therefore the TOTAL tax for the TWO CDs is
$ = 0.9737 \times 2 $
$= 1.9474$ dollars
3. Adding up the cost of the CD and the taxes for it
Let $x =$ total amount charged to Portia's credit card
$x = 29.96 + 1.9474$
$x = 31.9074$ dollars
$x \approx 31.91$ dollars
