A pair of shoes costs $52.99 and the state sales tax is 8%. Use the formula C = p + rp to find the total cost of the shoes, where C is the total cost, p is the price, and r is the sales tax rate.

The pair of shoes costs $52.99, so p = 52.99.

The state sales tax is 8%, which can be changed to decimal form by dividing by 100: 8/100 = 0.08. So r = 0.08.

Now you can plug both of these values into the formula to find the total cost of the shoes (c):

c = p + r*p

c = 52.99 + (0.08) * (52.99)

c = 52.99 + 4.2392

c = 57.2292

So the total cost of the shoes is $57.23