An exercise machine with an original price of $\$ 730$ is on sale at $18 \%$ off. a. What is the discount amount? b. What is the exercise machine's sale price? a. discount amount $=\$ \square$ b. sale price $=\$ \square$

Step 1 ：Let the original price of the exercise machine be \$730 and the discount be 18%.

Step 2 ：Calculate the discount amount by multiplying the original price by the discount percentage. In mathematical terms, this can be expressed as \(730 \times \frac{18}{100} = 131.4\).

Step 3 ：The discount amount is therefore \$131.4.

Step 4 ：Subtract the discount amount from the original price to find the sale price. This can be expressed as \(730 - 131.4 = 598.6\).

Step 5 ：The sale price of the exercise machine is therefore \$598.6.

Step 6 ：Final Answer: \(a. \boxed{131.4}\) \(b. \boxed{598.6}\)