homework 1 5 applications of percents

3.2 Solve Percent Applications

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Translate and solve basic percent equations
• Solve percent applications
• Find percent increase and percent decrease
• Solve simple interest applications
• Solve applications with discount or mark-up

Be Prepared 3.2

Before you get started, take this readiness quiz.

• Convert 4.5% to a decimal. If you missed this problem, review Example 1.26 .
• Convert 0.6 to a percent. If you missed this problem, review Example 1.26 .
• Round 0.875 to the nearest hundredth. If you missed this problem, review Example 1.26 .
• Multiply (4.5)(2.38). If you missed this problem, review Example 1.26 .
• Solve 3.5 = 0.7 n . 3.5 = 0.7 n . If you missed this problem, review Example 1.26 .
• Subtract 50 − 37.45 . 50 − 37.45 . If you missed this problem, review Example 1.26 .

Translate and Solve Basic Percent Equations

We will solve percent equations using the methods we used to solve equations with fractions or decimals. Without the tools of algebra, the best method available to solve percent problems was by setting them up as proportions. Now as an algebra student, you can just translate English sentences into algebraic equations and then solve the equations.

We can use any letter you like as a variable, but it is a good idea to choose a letter that will remind us of what you are looking for. We must be sure to change the given percent to a decimal when we put it in the equation.

Example 3.12

Translate and solve: What number is 35% of 90?

Try It 3.23

Translate and solve:

What number is 45% of 80?

Try It 3.24

What number is 55% of 60?

We must be very careful when we translate the words in the next example. The unknown quantity will not be isolated at first, like it was in Example 3.12 . We will again use direct translation to write the equation.

Example 3.13

Translate and solve: 6.5% of what number is $1.17?

Try It 3.25

7.5% of what number is $1.95?

Try It 3.26

8.5% of what number is $3.06?

In the next example, we are looking for the percent.

Example 3.14

Translate and solve: 144 is what percent of 96?

Note that we are asked to find percent, so we must have our final result in percent form.

Try It 3.27

110 is what percent of 88?

Try It 3.28

126 is what percent of 72?

Solve Applications of Percent

Many applications of percent —such as tips, sales tax, discounts, and interest—occur in our daily lives. To solve these applications we’ll translate to a basic percent equation, just like those we solved in previous examples. Once we translate the sentence into a percent equation, we know how to solve it.

We will restate the problem solving strategy we used earlier for easy reference.

Use a Problem-Solving Strategy to Solve an Application.

• Step 1. Read the problem. Make sure all the words and ideas are understood.
• Step 2. Identify what we are looking for.
• Step 3. Name what we are looking for. Choose a variable to represent that quantity.
• Step 4. Translate into an equation. It may be helpful to restate the problem in one sentence with all the important information. Then, translate the English sentence into an algebraic equation.
• Step 5. Solve the equation using good algebra techniques.
• Step 6. Check the answer in the problem and make sure it makes sense.
• Step 7. Answer the question with a complete sentence.

Now that we have the strategy to refer to, and have practiced solving basic percent equations, we are ready to solve percent applications. Be sure to ask yourself if your final answer makes sense—since many of the applications will involve everyday situations, you can rely on your own experience.

Example 3.15

Dezohn and his girlfriend enjoyed a nice dinner at a restaurant and his bill was $68.50. He wants to leave an 18% tip. If the tip will be 18% of the total bill, how much tip should he leave?

Notice that we used t to represent the unknown tip.

Try It 3.29

Cierra and her sister enjoyed a dinner in a restaurant and the bill was $81.50. If she wants to leave 18% of the total bill as her tip, how much should she leave?

Try It 3.30

Kimngoc had lunch at her favorite restaurant. She wants to leave 15% of the total bill as her tip. If her bill was $14.40, how much will she leave for the tip?

Example 3.16

The label on Masao’s breakfast cereal said that one serving of cereal provides 85 milligrams (mg) of potassium, which is 2% of the recommended daily amount. What is the total recommended daily amount of potassium?

Try It 3.31

One serving of wheat square cereal has seven grams of fiber, which is 28% of the recommended daily amount. What is the total recommended daily amount of fiber?

Try It 3.32

One serving of rice cereal has 190 mg of sodium, which is 8% of the recommended daily amount. What is the total recommended daily amount of sodium?

Example 3.17

Mitzi received some gourmet brownies as a gift. The wrapper said each brownie was 480 calories, and had 240 calories of fat. What percent of the total calories in each brownie comes from fat?

Try It 3.33

Solve. Round to the nearest whole percent.

Veronica is planning to make muffins from a mix. The package says each muffin will be 230 calories and 60 calories will be from fat. What percent of the total calories is from fat?

Try It 3.34

The mix Ricardo plans to use to make brownies says that each brownie will be 190 calories, and 76 calories are from fat. What percent of the total calories are from fat?

Find Percent Increase and Percent Decrease

People in the media often talk about how much an amount has increased or decreased over a certain period of time. They usually express this increase or decrease as a percent.

To find the percent increase , first we find the amount of increase, the difference of the new amount and the original amount. Then we find what percent the amount of increase is of the original amount.

Find the Percent Increase.

• Step 1. Find the amount of increase. new amount − original amount = increase new amount − original amount = increase
• Step 2. Find the percent increase. The increase is what percent of the original amount?

Example 3.18

In 2011, the California governor proposed raising community college fees from $26 a unit to $36 a unit. Find the percent increase. (Round to the nearest tenth of a percent.)

Notice that we rounded the division to the nearest thousandth in order to round the percent to the nearest tenth.

Try It 3.35

Find the percent increase. (Round to the nearest tenth of a percent.)

In 2011, the IRS increased the deductible mileage cost to 55.5 cents from 51 cents.

Try It 3.36

Find the percent increase.

In 1995, the standard bus fare in Chicago was $1.50. In 2008, the standard bus fare was $2.25.

Finding the percent decrease is very similar to finding the percent increase, but now the amount of decrease is the difference of the original amount and the new amount. Then we find what percent the amount of decrease is of the original amount.

Find the Percent Decrease.

• Step 1. Find the amount of decrease. original amount − new amount = decrease original amount − new amount = decrease
• Step 2. Find the percent decrease. Decrease is what percent of the original amount?

Example 3.19

The average price of a gallon of gas in one city in June 2014 was $3.71. The average price in that city in July was $3.64. Find the percent decrease.

Try It 3.37

Find the percent decrease. (Round to the nearest tenth of a percent.)

The population of North Dakota was about 672,000 in 2010. The population is projected to be about 630,000 in 2020.

Try It 3.38

Find the percent decrease.

Last year, Sheila’s salary was $42,000. Because of furlough days, this year, her salary was $37,800.

Solve Simple Interest Applications

Do you know that banks pay you to keep your money? The money a customer puts in the bank is called the principal , P , and the money the bank pays the customer is called the interest . The interest is computed as a certain percent of the principal; called the rate of interest , r . We usually express rate of interest as a percent per year, and we calculate it by using the decimal equivalent of the percent. The variable t , (for time ) represents the number of years the money is in the account.

To find the interest we use the simple interest formula, I = P r t . I = P r t .

Simple Interest

If an amount of money, P , called the principal, is invested for a period of t years at an annual interest rate r , the amount of interest, I , earned is

Interest earned according to this formula is called simple interest .

Interest may also be calculated another way, called compound interest. This type of interest will be covered in later math classes.

The formula we use to calculate simple interest is I = P r t . I = P r t . To use the formula, we substitute in the values the problem gives us for the variables, and then solve for the unknown variable. It may be helpful to organize the information in a chart.

Example 3.20

Nathaly deposited $12,500 in her bank account where it will earn 4% interest. How much interest will Nathaly earn in 5 years?

Try It 3.39

Areli invested a principal of $950 in her bank account with interest rate 3%. How much interest did she earn in 5 years?

Try It 3.40

Susana invested a principal of $36,000 in her bank account with interest rate 6.5%. How much interest did she earn in 3 years?

There may be times when we know the amount of interest earned on a given principal over a certain length of time, but we don’t know the rate. To find the rate, we use the simple interest formula, substitute in the given values for the principal and time, and then solve for the rate.

Example 3.21

Loren loaned his brother $3,000 to help him buy a car. In 4 years his brother paid him back the $3,000 plus $660 in interest. What was the rate of interest?

Notice that in this example, Loren’s brother paid Loren interest, just like a bank would have paid interest if Loren invested his money there.

Try It 3.41

Jim loaned his sister $5,000 to help her buy a house. In 3 years, she paid him the $5,000, plus $900 interest. What was the rate of interest?

Try It 3.42

Hang borrowed $7,500 from her parents to pay her tuition. In 5 years, she paid them $1,500 interest in addition to the $7,500 she borrowed. What was the rate of interest?

Example 3.22

Eduardo noticed that his new car loan papers stated that with a 7.5% interest rate, he would pay $6,596.25 in interest over 5 years. How much did he borrow to pay for his car?

Try It 3.43

Sean’s new car loan statement said he would pay $4,866.25 in interest from an interest rate of 8.5% over 5 years. How much did he borrow to buy his new car?

Try It 3.44

In 5 years, Gloria’s bank account earned $2,400 interest at 5%. How much had she deposited in the account?

Solve Applications with Discount or Mark-up

Applications of discount are very common in retail settings. When you buy an item on sale, the original price has been discounted by some dollar amount. The discount rate , usually given as a percent, is used to determine the amount of the discount. To determine the amount of discount , we multiply the discount rate by the original price.

We summarize the discount model in the box below.

Keep in mind that the sale price should always be less than the original price.

Example 3.23

Elise bought a dress that was discounted 35% off of the original price of $140. What was ⓐ the amount of discount and ⓑ the sale price of the dress?

ⓑ Read the problem again.

Try It 3.45

Find ⓐ the amount of discount and ⓑ the sale price:

Sergio bought a belt that was discounted 40% from an original price of $29.

Try It 3.46

Oscar bought a barbecue that was discounted 65% from an original price of $395.

There may be times when we know the original price and the sale price, and we want to know the discount rate . To find the discount rate, first we will find the amount of discount and then use it to compute the rate as a percent of the original price. Example 3.24 will show this case.

Example 3.24

Jeannette bought a swimsuit at a sale price of $13.95. The original price of the swimsuit was $31. Find the ⓐ amount of discount and ⓑ discount rate.

Try It 3.47

Find ⓐ the amount of discount and ⓑ the discount rate.

Lena bought a kitchen table at the sale price of $375.20. The original price of the table was $560.

Try It 3.48

Nick bought a multi-room air conditioner at a sale price of $340. The original price of the air conditioner was $400.

Applications of mark-up are very common in retail settings. The price a retailer pays for an item is called the original cost . The retailer then adds a mark-up to the original cost to get the list price , the price he sells the item for. The mark-up is usually calculated as a percent of the original cost. To determine the amount of mark-up, multiply the mark-up rate by the original cost.

We summarize the mark-up model in the box below.

Keep in mind that the list price should always be more than the original cost.

Example 3.25

Adam’s art gallery bought a photograph at original cost $250. Adam marked the price up 40%. Find the ⓐ amount of mark-up and ⓑ the list price of the photograph.

Try It 3.49

Find ⓐ the amount of mark-up and ⓑ the list price.

Jim’s music store bought a guitar at original cost $1,200. Jim marked the price up 50%.

Try It 3.50

The Auto Resale Store bought Pablo’s Toyota for $8,500. They marked the price up 35%.

Section 3.2 Exercises

Practice makes perfect.

In the following exercises, translate and solve.

What number is 45% of 120?

What number is 65% of 100?

What number is 24% of 112?

What number is 36% of 124?

250% of 65 is what number?

150% of 90 is what number?

800% of 2250 is what number?

600% of 1740 is what number?

28 is 25% of what number?

36 is 25% of what number?

81 is 75% of what number?

93 is 75% of what number?

8.2% of what number is $2.87?

6.4% of what number is $2.88?

11.5% of what number is $108.10?

12.3% of what number is $92.25?

What percent of 260 is 78?

What percent of 215 is 86?

What percent of 1500 is 540?

What percent of 1800 is 846?

30 is what percent of 20?

50 is what percent of 40?

840 is what percent of 480?

790 is what percent of 395?

Solve Percent Applications

In the following exercises, solve.

Geneva treated her parents to dinner at their favorite restaurant. The bill was $74.25. Geneva wants to leave 16% of the total bill as a tip. How much should the tip be?

When Hiro and his co-workers had lunch at a restaurant near their work, the bill was $90.50. They want to leave 18% of the total bill as a tip. How much should the tip be?

Trong has 12% of each paycheck automatically deposited to his savings account. His last paycheck was $2165. How much money was deposited to Trong’s savings account?

Cherise deposits 8% of each paycheck into her retirement account. Her last paycheck was $1,485. How much did Cherise deposit into her retirement account?

One serving of oatmeal has eight grams of fiber, which is 33% of the recommended daily amount. What is the total recommended daily amount of fiber?

One serving of trail mix has 67 grams of carbohydrates, which is 22% of the recommended daily amount. What is the total recommended daily amount of carbohydrates?

A bacon cheeseburger at a popular fast food restaurant contains 2070 milligrams (mg) of sodium, which is 86% of the recommended daily amount. What is the total recommended daily amount of sodium?

A grilled chicken salad at a popular fast food restaurant contains 650 milligrams (mg) of sodium, which is 27% of the recommended daily amount. What is the total recommended daily amount of sodium?

After 3 months on a diet, Lisa had lost 12% of her original weight. She lost 21 pounds. What was Lisa’s original weight?

Tricia got a 6% raise on her weekly salary. The raise was $30 per week. What was her original salary?

Yuki bought a dress on sale for $72. The sale price was 60% of the original price. What was the original price of the dress?

Kim bought a pair of shoes on sale for $40.50. The sale price was 45% of the original price. What was the original price of the shoes?

Tim left a $9 tip for a $50 restaurant bill. What percent tip did he leave?

Rashid left a $15 tip for a $75 restaurant bill. What percent tip did he leave?

The nutrition fact sheet at a fast food restaurant says the fish sandwich has 380 calories, and 171 calories are from fat. What percent of the total calories is from fat?

The nutrition fact sheet at a fast food restaurant says a small portion of chicken nuggets has 190 calories, and 114 calories are from fat. What percent of the total calories is from fat?

Emma gets paid $3,000 per month. She pays $750 a month for rent. What percent of her monthly pay goes to rent?

Dimple gets paid $3,200 per month. She pays $960 a month for rent. What percent of her monthly pay goes to rent?

Tamanika got a raise in her hourly pay, from $15.50 to $17.36. Find the percent increase.

Ayodele got a raise in her hourly pay, from $24.50 to $25.48. Find the percent increase.

Annual student fees at the University of California rose from about $4,000 in 2000 to about $12,000 in 2010. Find the percent increase.

The price of a share of one stock rose from $12.50 to $50. Find the percent increase.

According to Time magazine annual global seafood consumption rose from 22 pounds per person in the 1960s to 38 pounds per person in 2011. Find the percent increase. (Round to the nearest tenth of a percent.)

In one month, the median home price in the Northeast rose from $225,400 to $241,500. Find the percent increase. (Round to the nearest tenth of a percent.)

A grocery store reduced the price of a loaf of bread from $2.80 to $2.73. Find the percent decrease.

The price of a share of one stock fell from $8.75 to $8.54. Find the percent decrease.

Hernando’s salary was $49,500 last year. This year his salary was cut to $44,055. Find the percent decrease.

In 10 years, the population of Detroit fell from 950,000 to about 712,500. Find the percent decrease.

In 1 month, the median home price in the West fell from $203,400 to $192,300. Find the percent decrease. (Round to the nearest tenth of a percent.)

Sales of video games and consoles fell from $1,150 million to $1,030 million in 1 year. Find the percent decrease. (Round to the nearest tenth of a percent.)

Casey deposited $1,450 in a bank account with interest rate 4%. How much interest was earned in two years?

Terrence deposited $5,720 in a bank account with interest rate 6%. How much interest was earned in 4 years?

Robin deposited $31,000 in a bank account with interest rate 5.2%. How much interest was earned in 3 years?

Carleen deposited $16,400 in a bank account with interest rate 3.9%. How much interest was earned in 8 years?

Hilaria borrowed $8,000 from her grandfather to pay for college. Five years later, she paid him back the $8,000, plus $1,200 interest. What was the rate of interest?

Kenneth loaned his niece $1,200 to buy a computer. Two years later, she paid him back the $1,200, plus $96 interest. What was the rate of interest?

Lebron loaned his daughter $20,000 to help her buy a condominium. When she sold the condominium four years later, she paid him the $20,000, plus $3,000 interest. What was the rate of interest?

Pablo borrowed $50,000 to start a business. Three years later, he repaid the $50,000, plus $9,375 interest. What was the rate of interest?

In 10 years, a bank account that paid 5.25% earned $18,375 interest. What was the principal of the account?

In 25 years, a bond that paid 4.75% earned $2,375 interest. What was the principal of the bond?

Joshua’s computer loan statement said he would pay $1,244.34 in interest for a 3-year loan at 12.4%. How much did Joshua borrow to buy the computer?

Margaret’s car loan statement said she would pay $7,683.20 in interest for a 5-year loan at 9.8%. How much did Margaret borrow to buy the car?

In the following exercises, find the sale price.

Perla bought a cell phone that was on sale for $50 off. The original price of the cell phone was $189.

Sophie saw a dress she liked on sale for $15 off. The original price of the dress was $96.

Rick wants to buy a tool set with original price $165. Next week the tool set will be on sale for $40 off.

Angelo’s store is having a sale on televisions. One television, with original price $859, is selling for $125 off.

In the following exercises, find ⓐ the amount of discount and ⓑ the sale price.

Janelle bought a beach chair on sale at 60% off. The original price was $44.95.

Errol bought a skateboard helmet on sale at 40% off. The original price was $49.95.

Kathy wants to buy a camera that lists for $389. The camera is on sale with a 33% discount.

Colleen bought a suit that was discounted 25% from an original price of $245.

Erys bought a treadmill on sale at 35% off. The original price was $949.95 (round to the nearest cent.)

Jay bought a guitar on sale at 45% off. The original price was $514.75 (round to the nearest cent.)

In the following exercises, find ⓐ the amount of discount and ⓑ the discount rate. (Round to the nearest tenth of a percent if needed.)

Larry and Donna bought a sofa at the sale price of $1,344. The original price of the sofa was $1,920.

Hiroshi bought a lawnmower at the sale price of $240. The original price of the lawnmower is $300.

Patty bought a baby stroller on sale for $301.75. The original price of the stroller was $355.

Bill found a book he wanted on sale for $20.80. The original price of the book was $32.

Nikki bought a patio set on sale for $480. The original price was $850. To the nearest tenth of a percent, what was the rate of discount?

Stella bought a dinette set on sale for $725. The original price was $1,299. To the nearest tenth of a percent, what was the rate of discount?

In the following exercises, find ⓐ the amount of the mark-up and ⓑ the list price.

Daria bought a bracelet at original cost $16 to sell in her handicraft store. She marked the price up 45%.

Regina bought a handmade quilt at original cost $120 to sell in her quilt store. She marked the price up 55%.

Tom paid $0.60 a pound for tomatoes to sell at his produce store. He added a 33% mark-up.

Flora paid her supplier $0.74 a stem for roses to sell at her flower shop. She added an 85% mark-up.

Alan bought a used bicycle for $115. After re-conditioning it, he added 225% mark-up and then advertised it for sale.

Michael bought a classic car for $8,500. He restored it, then added 150% mark-up before advertising it for sale.

Everyday Math

Leaving a Tip At the campus coffee cart, a medium coffee costs $1.65. MaryAnne brings $2.00 with her when she buys a cup of coffee and leaves the change as a tip. What percent tip does she leave?

Splitting a Bill Four friends went out to lunch and the bill came to $53.75. They decided to add enough tip to make a total of $64, so that they could easily split the bill evenly among themselves. What percent tip did they leave?

Writing Exercises

Without solving the problem “44 is 80% of what number” think about what the solution might be. Should it be a number that is greater than 44 or less than 44? Explain your reasoning.

Without solving the problem “What is 20% of 300?” think about what the solution might be. Should it be a number that is greater than 300 or less than 300? Explain your reasoning.

After returning from vacation, Alex said he should have packed 50% fewer shorts and 200% more shirts. Explain what Alex meant.

Because of road construction in one city, commuters were advised to plan that their Monday morning commute would take 150% of their usual commuting time. Explain what this means.

ⓐ After completing the exercises, use this checklist to evaluate your mastery of the objectives of this section.

ⓑ After reviewing this checklist, what will you do to become confident for all goals?

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Percents and their Applications

Related Topics: More Lessons for GMAT Math Math Worksheets

Examples, solutions, and videos that will help GMAT students review percents and their applications.

Applications of Percent Change Examples:

• While exercising, Martha’s heart rate is about 180 beats per minute. After exercising, Martha takes a nap, during which time her heart rate drops to 60 beats per minute. What is the percent change from her exercising heart rate to her resting heart rate?
• The enrollment for a certain school in 1980 was 400 students. This year, there are 685 students at the school. What is the percent increase in enrollment since 1980?
• During two weeks in the spring, the number of leaves on a young tree increased 85%. If the tree began with 200 leaves, how many leaves did the tree have at the end of the two week period?
• During a department store sale, the price of the designer watch dropped 25%. The watch originally cost $140. What is the sale price?
• Over several years, the number of squirrels in one area of the forest dropped 10% every decade. That is, from 1980 to 1990, the number of squirrels dropped 10%, dropped 10% of the 1990 total from 1990 to 2000 dropped 10% of the 2000 total from 2000 to 2010. In 1980, there were 400 squirrels living in that area. What is the number of squirrels living in the area in 2010?

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3.4 Solve General Applications of Percent

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Translate and solve basic percent equations
• Solve applications of percent
• Find percent increase and percent decrease

Translate and Solve Basic Percent Equations

In the last section, we solved percent problems by setting them up as proportions. That is the best method available when you did not have the tools of algebra. Now, in this section we will translate word sentences into algebraic equations, and then solve the percent equations.

We’ll look at a common application of percent—tips to a server at a restaurant—to see how to set up a basic percent application.

In the next examples, we will find the amount. We must be sure to change the given percent to a decimal when we translate the words into an equation.

In the next examples, we are asked to find the base.

In the next examples, we will solve for the percent.

Solve Applications of Percent

Many applications of percent occur in our daily lives, such as tips, sales tax, discount, and interest. To solve these applications we’ll translate to a basic percent equation, just like those we solved in the previous examples in this section. Once you translate the sentence into a percent equation, you know how to solve it.

We will update the strategy we used in our earlier applications to include equations now. Notice that we will translate a sentence into an equation.

HOW TO: Solve an Application

• Identify what you are asked to find and choose a variable to represent it.
• Write a sentence that gives the information to find it.
• Translate the sentence into an equation.
• Solve the equation using good algebra techniques.
• Check the answer in the problem and make sure it makes sense.
• Write a complete sentence that answers the question.

Now that we have the strategy to refer to, and have practiced solving basic percent equations, we are ready to solve percent applications. Be sure to ask yourself if your final answer makes sense—since many of the applications we’ll solve involve everyday situations, you can rely on your own experience.

Find Percent Increase and Percent Decrease

People in the media often talk about how much an amount has increased or decreased over a certain period of time. They usually express this increase or decrease as a percent .

To find the percent increase, first we find the amount of increase, which is the difference between the new amount and the original amount. Then we find what percent the amount of increase is of the original amount.

HOW TO: Find Percent Increase

Step 1. Find the amount of increase.

Step 2. Find the percent increase as a percent of the original amount.

TRY IT 10.1

TRY IT 10.2

Finding the percent decrease is very similar to finding the percent increase, but now the amount of decrease is the difference between the original amount and the final amount. Then we find what percent the amount of decrease is of the original amount.

HOW TO: Find Percent Decrease

• Find the percent decrease as a percent of the original amount.

TRY IT 11.1

TRY IT 11.2

Access Additional Online Resources

• Percent Increase and Percent Decrease Visualization

Key Concepts

• Find the percent increase as a percent of the original amount.

Practice Makes Perfect

In the following exercises, translate and solve.

Solve Applications of Percents

In the following exercises, solve the applications of percents.

In the following exercises, find the percent increase or percent decrease.

Everyday Math

Writing Exercises

Attributions

This chapter has been adapted from “Solve General Applications of Percent” in Prealgebra (OpenStax) by Lynn Marecek, MaryAnne Anthony-Smith, and Andrea Honeycutt Mathis, which is under a CC BY 4.0 Licence . Adapted by Izabela Mazur. See the Copyright page for more information.

Intermediate Algebra I Copyright © 2021 by Pooja Gupta is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Applying Percents Study Guide

What is a percent .

A percent is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100. The symbol "%" is used to denote a percent . For example, 25% means 25 out of 100.

Converting Between Percents , Decimals , and Fractions

To convert a percent to a decimal , divide the percent by 100. For example, 25% is equivalent to 0.25 as a decimal .

To convert a percent to a fraction , write the percent as a fraction with a denominator of 100 and simplify if possible. For example, 25% is equivalent to 25/100, which simplifies to 1/4.

To convert a decimal to a percent , multiply the decimal by 100. For example, 0.25 is equivalent to 25% as a percent .

To convert a decimal to a fraction , write the decimal as a fraction and simplify if possible. For example, 0.25 is equivalent to 25/100, which simplifies to 1/4.

Calculating Percentages

To calculate a percentage of a number, multiply the number by the decimal equivalent of the percentage. For example, to find 25% of 80, you would calculate 0.25 * 80 = 20.

Percent Increase and Decrease

To calculate a percent increase, first find the difference between the new and original values. Then, divide the difference by the original value and multiply by 100. For example, if the original value is 50 and the new value is 65, the percent increase is ((65-50)/50) * 100 = 30%.

To calculate a percent decrease, use the same process as for percent increase, but with the difference being the original value minus the new value.

Discounts and Markups

To calculate the sale price of an item after a discount, subtract the discount amount from the original price. For example, if an item is originally $80 and there is a 20% discount, the sale price would be $80 - (0.20 * $80) = $64.

To calculate the selling price of an item after a markup, add the markup amount to the original price. For example, if an item is originally $50 and there is a 25% markup, the selling price would be $50 + (0.25 * $50) = $62.50.

Word Problems

When solving percent word problems , it's important to carefully read the problem and identify the known values and the unknown value. Then, set up an equation and solve for the unknown value using the methods described above.

Practice Problems

• What is 30% as a decimal ?
• Convert 0.6 to a percent .
• Find 15% of 200.
• If the original price of a shirt is $40 and it is discounted by 20%, what is the sale price?
• If a computer is marked up by 35% to a selling price of $810, what was its original price?

Good luck with your study of applying percents !

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◂ Math Worksheets and Study Guides Seventh Grade. Applying Percents

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Module 7: Percents

Summary: solving general applications of percents, key concepts.

• Identify what you are asked to find and choose a variable to represent it.
• Write a sentence that gives the information to find it.
• Translate the sentence into an equation.
• Solve the equation using good algebra techniques.
• Write a complete sentence that answers the question.
• Check the answer in the problem and make sure it makes sense.
• Find the amount of increase:[latex]\text{increase}=\text{new amount}-\text{original amount}[/latex]
• Find the percent increase as a percent of the original amount.
• Find the amount of decrease.[latex]\text{decrease}=\text{original amount}-\text{new amount}[/latex]
• Find the percent decrease as a percent of the original amount.
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Home » Mathematics » Algebra 1 » Applications of Percents

Professor Fraser

Applications of Percents

Table of contents, algebra 1 applications of percents.

Section 2: Solving Linear Equations: Lecture 7 | 20:38 min

Dr. Fraser will cover Applications of Percents with examples of real life situations. You will learn about percentage of increase which is illustrated with sales tax, as well as percentage of decrease which can be understood as a discount.

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• Definitions 0:22
• Percent of Change
• Percent of Increase
• Percent of Decrease
• Examples of Percent of Change 1:14
• Lecture Example 1 2:51
• Lecture Example 2 4:46
• Additional Example 3
• Additional Example 4

Mathematics: Algebra 1

Section 1: Basic Concepts  24:05  22:16  16:27  22:35  27:49Section 2: Solving Linear Equations  22:13  14:39  19:19  19:13  24:16  22:39  20:38  22:34Section 3: Functions  24:39  19:03  20:03Section 4: Linear Functions and their Graphs  23:58  13:18  17:11  10:32  18:15Section 5: Systems of Equations  20:01  24:12  12:18  19:11  18:24Section 6: Inequalities  10:08  10:59  16:21  23:00  23:13  17:34  30:50  27:38Section 7: Polynomials  19:55  23:09  16:35  22:00  24:08  26:37  19:40Section 8: Factoring  27:25  26:03  27:37  34:11  20:22  18:07Section 9: Quadratic Functions  28:05  28:18  25:07  24:15Section 10: Radical Expressions and Equations  32:40  19:59  26:50  19:08  18:27Section 11: Rational Expressions and Equations  14:43  32:43  27:22  28:30  29:44  16:50  36:00  18:43  39:10

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