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Percentage Problem Solving
Percentage Problem Solving
The word percent is Latin for for each hundred. Look at the following drawing.
How can we describe how much of the rectangle is shaded? We can say that
1
1. of the rectangle is shaded,
4
2. 0.25 of the rectangle is shaded, or
3. 25% of the rectangle is shaded.
Example 1
Converting Rational Numbers to Percents
CHECK YOURSELF 1
Convert each rational number to a percent.
1
(a) 0.45 (b) 2.1 (c)
8
2001 McGraw-Hill Companies
There are many practical applications that use percents. Every complete percent statement
has three parts that need to be identified. Lets look at some definitions that will help with
that process.
207
208 CHAPTER 2 EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES
Example 2
Identifying Base, Amount, and Rate.
CHECK YOURSELF 2
Identify the indicated quantity in each statement.
Given an application of percents, it is frequently easiest to rewrite the statement in the form
R% of B is A
to identify the three parts.
Example 3
Identifying Rate, Base, and Amount
Delia borrows $10,000 for 1 year at 11% interest. How much interest will she pay?
We can rewrite the statement as 11% of $10,000 is what amount?
11% is the rate, $10,000 is the base, and the amount is unknown (at least at the moment).
CHECK YOURSELF 3
Identify the rate, base, and amount in the following statement.
Melina earned $140 last year from a certificate of deposit that paid 6%. How much
did she invest? 2001 McGraw-Hill Companies
Amount Rate
Base 100
This proportion could also be written as the equation
100 amount rate base or 100A R B
SOLVING PERCENT APPLICATIONS SECTION 2.6 209
Example 4
Solving a Problem Involving an Unknown Amount
1
Find the interest you must pay if you borrow $2000 for 1 year with an interest rate of 9 %.
2
1
The base (the principal) is $2000, the rate is 9 %, and we want to find the interest (the
2
amount). Using the percent proportion gives
REMEMBER
1 A 9.5
9 % 9.5%
2 2000 100
so
100A 9.5 2000
or
19,000
A 190
100
The interest (amount) is $190.
CHECK YOURSELF 4
1
You invest $5000 for 1 year at 8 %. How much interest will you earn?
2
Example 5
Solving a Problem Involving an Unknown Rate
You borrow $2000 from a bank for 1 year and are charged $150 interest. What is the
interest rate?
The base is the amount of the loan (the principal). The amount is the interest paid. To
find the interest rate, we again use the percent proportion.
150 R
2000 100
Then
CHECK YOURSELF 5
Xian borrowed $3200 and was charged $352 in interest for 1 year. What was the
interest rate?
Example 6
Solving a Problem Involving an Unknown Base
Ms. Hobson agrees to pay 11% interest on a loan for her new automobile. She is charged
$550 interest on a loan for 1 year. How much did she borrow?
The rate is 11%. The amount, or interest, is $550. We want to find the base, which is
the principal, or the size of the loan. To solve the problem, we have
550 11
B 100
100 550 11B
55,000
B 5000
11
She borrowed $5000.
CHECK YOURSELF 6
Sue pays $210 interest for a 1-year loan at 10.5%. What was the size of her loan?
Percents are used in too many ways for us to list. Look at the variety in the following
examples, which illustrate some additional situations in which you will find percents.
Another common application of percents involves tax rates.
Example 7
Solving a Percent Problem
A state taxes sales at 5.5%. How much sales tax will you pay on a purchase of $48?
The tax you pay is the amount (the part of the whole). Here the base is the purchase
price, $48, and the rate is the tax rate, 5.5%.
CHECK YOURSELF 7
1
Suppose that a state has a sales tax rate of 6 %. If you buy a used car for $1200,
2
how much sales tax must you pay?
Percents are also used to deal with store markups or discounts. Consider Example 8.
SOLVING PERCENT APPLICATIONS SECTION 2.6 211
Example 8
Solving a Percent Problem
A store marks up items to make a 30% profit. If an item cost $2.50 from the supplier, what
will the selling price be?
The base is the cost of the item, $2.50, and the rate is 30%. In the percent proportion, the
markup is the amount in this application.
A 30
or 100A 30 2.50
2.50 100
Then
75
A 0.75
100
The markup is $0.75. Finally we have
NOTE
Selling price original cost Selling price $2.50 $0.75 $3.25 Add the cost and the markup
markup to find the selling price.
CHECK YOURSELF 8
A store wants to discount (or mark down) an item by 25% for a sale. If the original
price of the item was $45, find the sale price. [Hint: Find the discount (the amount
the item will be marked down), and subtract that from the original price.]
Our final examples illustrate increases and decreases stated in terms of percents.
Example 9
Solving a Percent Problem
The population of a town increased 15% in a 3-year period. If the original population was
12,000, what was the population at the end of the period?
First we find the increase in the population. That increase is the amount in the problem.
A 15
so 100A 15 12,000
12,000 100
180,000
A
100
1800
To find the population at the end of the period, we add
12,000 1800 13,800
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CHECK YOURSELF 9
A schools enrollment decreased by 8% from a given year to the next. If the enroll-
ment was 550 students the first year, how many students were enrolled the second
year?
212 CHAPTER 2 EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES
Example 10
Solving a Percent Problem
Enrollment at a school increased from 800 to 888 students from a given year to the next.
What was the rate of increase?
First we must subtract to find the actual increase.
Increase: 888 800 88 students
Now to find the rate, we have
NOTE We use the original 88 R
enrollment, 800, as our base. so 100 88 R 800
800 100
8800
R 11
800
The enrollment has increased at a rate of 11%.
CHECK YOURSELF 10
Car sales at a dealership decreased from 350 units one year to 322 units the next.
What was the rate of decrease?
Example 11
Solving a Percent Problem
A company hired 18 new employees in 1 year. If this was a 15% increase, how many
employees did the company have before the increase?
The rate is 15%. The amount is 18, the number of new employees. The base in this
problem is the number of employees before the increase. So
18 15
B 100
1800
100 18 15B or B 120
15
The company had 120 employees before the increase.
CHECK YOURSELF 11
A school had 54 new students in one term. If this was a 12% increase over the pre-
2001 McGraw-Hill Companies
vious term, how many students were there before the increase?
Identify the rate, base, and amount in the following applications. Do not solve the 8.
applications at this point.
9.
13. Commission. Jan has a 5% commission rate on all her sales. If she sells $40,000
worth of merchandise in 1 month, what commission will she earn? 10.
11.
14. Salary. 22% of Shirleys monthly salary is deducted for withholding. If those
deductions total $209, what is her salary? 12.
13.
15. Chemistry. In a chemistry class of 30 students, 5 received a grade of A.
What percent of the students received As? 14.
15.
16. Mixtures. A can of mixed nuts contains 80% peanuts. If the can holds 16 ounces
(oz), how many ounces of peanuts does it contain? 16.
17.
17. Selling price. The sale tax rate in a state is 5.5% . If you pay a tax of $3.30 on an
item that you purchase, what is its selling price? 18.
19.
18. Manufacturing. In a shipment of 750 parts, 75 were found to be defective.
What percent of the parts were faulty? 20.
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19. Enrollments. A college had 9000 students at the start of a school year. If there is an
enrollment increase of 6% by the beginning of the next year, how many additional
students were there?
20. Investments. Paul invested $5000 in a time deposit. What interest will he earn for
1 year if the interest rate is 6.5%?
213
ANSWERS
21.
Solve each of the following applications.
22.
21. Interest. What interest will you pay on a $3400 loan for 1 year if the interest rate
23. is 12%?
24.
22. Chemistry. A chemist has 300 milliliters (mL) of solution that is 18% acid. How
25.
many milliliters of acid are in the solution?
26.
27.
28. 300 mL
23. Payroll deductions. Roberto has 26% of his pay withheld for deductions. If he earns
$550 per week, what amount is withheld?
24. Commission. A real estate agents commission rate is 6%. What will be the amount
of the commission on the sale of an $85,000 home?
26. Interest. Ms. Jordan has been given a loan of $2500 for 1 year. If the interest
charged is $275, what is the interest rate on the loan?
27. Interest. Joan was charged $18 interest for 1 month on a $1200 credit card balance.
What was the monthly interest rate?
28. Chemistry. There is 117 grams (g) of acid in 900 g of a solution of acid and water.
What percent of the solution is acid?
214
ANSWERS
29.
29. Test scores. On a test, Alice had 80% of the problems right. If she had 20 problems
correct, how many questions were on the test? 30.
30. Sales tax. A state sales tax rate is 3.5%. If the tax on a purchase is $7, what was the 31.
amount of the purchase?
32.
31. Loan amount. Patty pays $525 interest for a 1-year loan at 10.5%. What was the 33.
amount of her loan?
34.
32. Commission. A saleswoman is working on a 5% commission basis. If she wants to
35.
make $1800 in 1 month, how much must she sell?
36.
33. Sales tax. A state sales tax is levied at a rate of 6.4%. How much tax would one pay
on a purchase of $260? 37.
1 38.
34. Down payment. Betty must make a 9 % down payment on the purchase of a $2000
2
motorcycle. How much must she pay down? 39.
1
35. Commission. If a house sells for $125,000 and the commission rate is 6 %, how
2
much will the salesperson make for the sale?
36. Test scores. Marla needs 70% on a final test to receive a C for a course. If the exam
has 120 questions, how many questions must she answer correctly?
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37. Unemployment. A study has shown that 102 of the 1200 people in the workforce of
a small town are unemployed. What is the towns unemployment rate?
38. Surveys. A survey of 400 people found that 66 were left-handed. What percent of
those surveyed were left-handed?
39. Dropout rate. Of 60 people who start a training program, 45 complete the course.
What is the dropout rate?
215
ANSWERS
40.
40. Manufacturing. In a shipment of 250 parts, 40 are found to be defective. What
41. percent of the parts are faulty?
42. 41. Surveys. In a recent survey, 65% of those responding were in favor of a freeway
improvement project. If 780 people were in favor of the project, how many people
43. responded to the survey?
44.
42. Enrollments. A college finds that 42% of the students taking a foreign language are
45. enrolled in Spanish. If 1512 students are taking Spanish, how many foreign language
students are there?
46.
43. Salary. 22% of Samuels monthly salary is deducted for withholding. If those
47. deductions total $209, what is his salary?
48.
44. Budgets. The Townsends budget 36% of their monthly income for food. If they
spend $864 on food, what is their monthly income?
45. Markup. An appliance dealer marks up refrigerators 22% (based on cost). If the
cost of one model was $600, what will its selling price be?
46. Enrollments. A school had 900 students at the start of a school year. If there is an
enrollment increase of 7% by the beginning of the next year, what is the new
enrollment?
47. Land value. A home lot purchased for $125,000 increased in value by 25% over
3 years. What was the lots value at the end of the period?
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48. Depreciation. New cars depreciate an average of 28% in their first year of use. What
will an $18,000 car be worth after 1 year?
216
ANSWERS
49.
49. Enrollment. A schools enrollment was up from 950 students in 1 year to 1064
students in the next. What was the rate of increase? 50.
50. Salary. Under a new contract, the salary for a position increases from $31,000 to 51.
$33,635. What rate of increase does this represent?
52.
51. Markdown. A stereo system is marked down from $450 to $382.50. What is the 53.
discount rate?
54.
55.
56.
57.
52. Business. The electricity costs of a business decrease from $12,000 one year to
$10,920 the next. What is the rate of decrease?
53. Price changes. The price of a new van has increased $4830, which amounts to a
14% increase. What was the price of the van before the increase?
54. Markdown. A television set is marked down $75, to be placed on sale. If this is a
12.5% decrease from the original price, what was the selling price before the sale?
55. Workforce. A company had 66 fewer employees in July 1999 than in July 1998. If
this represents a 5.5% decrease, how many employees did the company have in July
1998?
56. Salary. Carlotta received a monthly raise of $162.50. If this represented a 6.5%
increase, what was her monthly salary before the raise?
57. Retail sales. A pair of shorts is advertised for $48.75 and as being 25% off the
original price. What was the original price?
2001 McGraw-Hill Companies
217
ANSWERS
58.
58. Tipping. If the total bill at a restaurant, including a 15% tip is $65.32, what was the
59. cost of the meal alone?
The following chart shows U.S. trade with Mexico from 19921997. Use this information
60. for exercises 5962.
61.
U.S. Trade With Mexico, 1992-97
Source: Office of Trade and Economic Analysis,
62. U.S. Dept. of Commerce
(millions of dollars)
63. MEXICO
Year Exports Imports Trade Balance1
64. 1992 ... $40,592 . . . $35,211 ... $5,381
1993 ... 41,581 . . . 39,917 ... 1,664
19942 ... 50,844 . . . 49,494 ... 1,350
65. 1995 ... 46,292 . . . 61,685 . . . 15,393
1996 ... 56,792 . . . 74,297 . . . 17,506
1997 ... 71,388 . . . 85,938 . . . 14,549
66.
(1) Totals may not add due to rounding
(2) NAFTA provisions began to take effect: Jan. 1, 1994
59. What is the rate of increase (to the nearest whole percent) of exports from 1992 to
1997?
60. What is the rate of increase (to the nearest whole percent) of imports from 1992 to
1997?
Now if you leave that amount in the account for a second year, the interest will be
calculated on the original principal, $1000, plus the first years interest, $50. This is
called compound interest.
For year 2, the interest is 5% of $1050, or 0.05 $1050 $52.50. At the end of
year 2, you will have $1102.50 in the account.
At 5% At 5%
$1000 $1050 $1102.50
Start Year 1 Year 2
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In Exercises 63 to 66, assume the interest is compounded annually (at the end of each
year), and find the amount in an account with the given interest rate and principal.
218
ANSWERS
67.
67. Automobiles. In 1990, there were an estimated 145.0 million passenger cars
registered in the United States. The total number of vehicles registered in the 68.
United States for 1990 was estimated at 194.5 million. What percent of the vehicles
registered were passenger cars? 69.
68. Gasoline. Gasoline accounts for 85% of the motor fuel consumed in the United 70.
States every day. If 8882 thousand barrels (bbl) of motor fuel are consumed each day,
how much gasoline is consumed each day in the United States? 71.
70. Pollution. Each year, 540 million metric tons (t) of carbon dioxide are added to the
atmosphere by the United States. Burning gasoline and other transportation fuels is
responsible for 35% of the carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. How much
carbon dioxide is emitted each year by the burning of transportation fuels in the
United States?
71. The progress of the local Lions club is shown below. What percent of the goal has
been achieved so far?
Goal: $40,000
40,000
35,000
2001 McGraw-Hill Companies
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
219
ANSWERS
72.
In Exercises 72 to 76, use the following number line.
73.
A C E D B
74.
72. Length AC is what percent of length AB? 73. Length AD is what percent of AB?
75.
74. Length AE is what percent of AB? 75. Length AE is what percent of AD?
76.
76. Length AC is what percent of AE?
a.
b.
Getting Ready for Section 2.7 [Section 1.2]
c.
Locate each of the following numbers on the number line.
d.
(a) 4 (b) 5 (c) 3 (d) 2
e. 7 2
(e) (f) (g) 2.5 (h) 1.1
2 3
f.
g.
5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5
h.
Answers
1. 23% 3. 250% 5. 37.5% 7. 23% 9. 200 11. 350
13. R: 5%; A: Commission; B: $40,000 15. A: 5; R: percent; B: 30
17. A: $3.30; R: 5.5%; B: selling price 19. A: students; B: 9000; R: 6%
21. $408 23. $143 25. 5% 27. 1.5% 29. 25 questions
31. $5000 33. $16.64 35. $8125 37. 8.5% 39. 25%
41. 1200 people 43. $950 45. $732 47. $156,250 49. 12%
51. 15% 53. $34,500 55. 1200 employees 57. $65 59. 76%
61. 15% 63. $4494.40 65. $4630.50 67. 74.6%
69. 17.22 million bbl 71. 37.5% 73. 75% 75. 50%
a.h.
b e c h f d g a
5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5
220