Actually, there is
no math problem or numerical question explicitly stated in the text you provided. The passage is a
reading comprehension story titled “Taxes!” by Andrew Frinkle, designed to help students practice reading skills — not to solve a math equation.
However, if we interpret your request as:
> *“What is the total cost Tommy paid for his army men, including taxes?”*
…then we can extract and explain the financial details from the story.
---
✔ Solution:
Tommy selected a pack of army men that
cost 99 cents.
At the checkout, the machine displayed
$1.05 after scanning the barcode.
The cashier explains:
> *“There are six cents of taxes on non-food items, kid.”*
So:
-
Base price: $0.99
-
Tax: $0.06
-
Total: $0.99 + $0.06 =
$1.05
Tommy only had:
- One dollar bill ($1.00)
- One penny ($0.01) → Total:
$1.01
He was short
$0.04.
The cashier kindly took his $1.01 and added
four more pennies from the “give a penny, take a penny” dish to make up the difference.
---
🧾 Final Answer:
Tommy paid $1.05 total for his army men, which included $0.99 for the toy and $0.06 in tax.
---
💡 Educational Purpose:
This story teaches:
- Real-world application of sales tax.
- Budgeting and having exact change.
- Social skills (e.g., the cashier’s kindness).
- Reading comprehension — understanding context, dialogue, and implied meaning.
It’s meant to be read and understood, not “solved” like a math problem — unless you’re extracting the math embedded in the narrative, which we’ve done above.
Let me know if you’d like a worksheet-style question set based on this story!
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of free reading comprehension worksheet 6th grade.
