What sales tax, at a rate of \( 5 \frac{1}{2} \% \), must you pay on the purchase of a computer hard disk drive costing \( \$ 257.75 \) ? The sales tax is \( \$ \square \). (Round to the nearest cent as needed.)

To find the sales tax amount, you first convert the percentage into decimal form. \( 5 \frac{1}{2} \% \) is equal to \( 0.055 \) when converted (5.5% divided by 100). Then, multiply the cost of the hard disk drive by the sales tax rate: \[ \text{Sales Tax} = 257.75 \times 0.055 = 14.19375 \] Now, round this amount to the nearest cent, which gives you: \[ \text{Sales Tax} \approx 14.19 \] So, the sales tax is \( \$ 14.19 \).