To find the original price of the order before the discount, we can set up an equation based on the relationship between the discounted price and the original price.

Step 1: Define the variables

Let $P$ be the original price of the order before the discount.

Step 2: Express the discounted price

John's office supply received a 15.5% discount on the original price. This means they paid 84.5% (or 100% - 15.5%) of the original price: $0.845P = 3887$

Step 3: Solve for $P$

To find the original price $P$, divide both sides of the equation by 0.845: $P = \frac{3887}{0.845}$

Step 4: Calculate $P$

$P \approx 4600$

So, the original price of the order before the discount was $4600.

Would you like further details or have any questions?

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1. How is a discount percentage applied to the original price?
2. How do you calculate the percentage of a number?
3. What is the process for solving equations with percentages?
4. How would the answer change if the discount was different?
5. How can you verify the correctness of your solution in percentage problems?

Tip: When dealing with percentage problems, it’s helpful to convert the percentage to a decimal to simplify calculations.