Percentages Toolkit

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CIE IGCSE Maths: Extended Your notes
Percentages Toolkit
Contents
Basic Percentages
Working with Percentages
Page 1 of 9
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Basic Percentages
Your notes
Basic Percentages
What is a percentage?
“Per-cent” simply means “ ÷ 100” (or “out of 100”)
You can think of a percentage as a standardised way of expressing a fraction – by always expressing it
“out of 100”
That means it is a useful way of comparing fractions e.g.
50
½= = 50%
100
40
⅖= = 40%
100
75
¾= = 75%
100
How do I work out basic percentages of amounts?

You can use simple equivalences to calculate percentages of amounts without a calculator
1
50% = so you can divide by 2
2
1
4
1
5
1
10
1
5% = so you can find 10% then divide by 2
20
1
1% = so you can divide by 100 etc.
100
You can then build up more complicated percentages such as 17% = 10% + 5% + 2 x 1%
Page 2 of 9
How do I find any percentage of an amount?

Method 1: You can find any percentage of an amount by dividing by 100 and multiplying by the given % Your notes
23% of 40 is 40 ÷ 100 = 0.4, multiply by 23: 0.4 × 23 = 9.2
Method 2: To find “a percentage of X”: multiply X by the "decimal equivalent" of that percentage
(percentage ÷ 100)
for example, 23% of 40 is 40 x 0.23 = 9.2
To find “A as a percentage of B”: do A ÷ B to get a decimal, then x 100, e.g.
for example, to find 26 as a percentage of 40 first do 26 ÷ 40 = 0.65, then x 100 to get 65%
26 is 65% of 40
Worked example
Jamal earns £1200 for a job he does and pays his agent £150 in commission.
Express his agent's commission as a percentage of Jamal's earnings.
Page 3 of 9
Working with Percentages

Your notes
Percentage Increases & Decreases
How do I increase or decrease by a percentage?
Identify “before” & “after” quantities
If working in percentages, add to (or subtract from) 100
a percentage increase of 25% is 100 + 25 = 125% of the "before" price
Add 25% to the original amount
a percentage decrease of 25% is 100 - 25 = 75% of the "before" price
Subtract 25% from the original amount
A multiplier, p, is the decimal equivalent of a percentage increase or decrease
The multiplier for a percentage increase of 25% is p = 1 + 0.25 = 1.25
Multiply the original amount by the multiplier, 1.25, to find the new amount
The multiplier for a percentage decrease of 25% is p = 1 - 0.25 = 0.75
Multiply the original amount by the multiplier, 0.75, to find the new amount
The amount "before" and the amount "after" a percentage change are related by the formula "before"
× p = "after"
where p is the multiplier
How do I find a percentage change?
Method 1: rearrange the formula "before" × p = "after" to make p (the multiplier) the subject
after
p=
before
Calculate p and interpret its value
p = 1.02 shows a percentage increase of 2%
p = 0.97 shows a percentage decrease of 3%
after − before
Method 2: Use the formula that the "percentage change" is × 100
before
A positive value is a percentage increase
A negative value is a percentage decrease
The same formula can be used for percentage profit (or loss)
the "cost" price is the price a shop has to pay to buy something and the "selling" price is how much
the shop sells it for
selling price − cost price

Percentage profit (or loss) = × 100
cost price
Page 4 of 9
You can identify whether there is a profit or loss

cost price < selling price = profit (formula gives a positive value)
cost price > selling price = loss (formula gives a negative value) Your notes
Page 5 of 9
Worked example
Your notes
(a) Increase £200 by 18%
Write 18% as a percentage (by dividing by 100)
18 ÷ 100 = 0.18
Find the decimal equivalent of an 18% increase (by adding 1 to 0.18)
1 + 0.18 = 1.18
Multiply £200 by 1.18
200 × 1.18
£236
(b) Decrease 500 kg by 23%
Write 23% as a percentage (by dividing by 100)
23 ÷ 100 = 0.23
Find the decimal equivalent of a 23% decrease (by subtracting 0.23 from 1)
1 - 0.23 = 0.77
Multiply 500 by 0.77
500 × 0.77
385 kg
(c) The number of students in a school goes from 250 to 310. Describe this as a percentage change.
Page 6 of 9
Use the formula "percentage change" =

Your notes
This is a positive value so is a "percentage increase"
A percentage increase of 24%
Page 7 of 9
Reverse Percentages
What is a reverse percentage? Your notes
A reverse percentage question is one where we are given the value after a percentage increase or
decrease and asked to find the value before the change
How to do reverse percentage questions
You should think about the "before" quantity (even though it is not given in the question)
Find the percentage change as a multiplier, p (the decimal equivalent of a percentage change)
a percentage increase of 4% means p = 1 + 0.04 = 1.04
a percentage decrease of 5% means p = 1 - 0.05 = 0.95
Use "before" × p = "after" to write an equation
get the order right: the change happens to the "before", not to the "after"
Rearrange the equation to find the "before" quantity...
...by dividing the "after" quantity by the multiplier, p
Exam Tip
A reverse percentage question involves dividing by the multiplier, p, not multiplying by it
To spot a reverse percentage question, see if you are being asked to find a quantity in the past,
e.g.
Find the "old" / "original" / "before" amount ...
Page 8 of 9
Worked example
Your notes
Jennie is now paid £31 500 per year, after having a pay rise of 5%. How much was Jennie paid before
the pay rise?
The "before" amount is unknown and the "after" amount is 31 500
Find the multiplier, p (by writing 5% as a decimal and adding it to 1)
p = 1 + 0.05 = 1.05
Use "before" × p = "after" to write an equation
"before" × 1.05 = 31 500
Find "before" (by dividing both sides by 1.05)
"before" = = 30 000
She was paid £30 000 before the pay rise

Jennie was paid £30 000 before the pay rise
Page 9 of 9

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CIE IGCSE Maths: Extended Your notes

How do I work out basic percentages of amounts?

How do I find any percentage of an amount?

Working with Percentages

selling price − cost price

You can identify whether there is a profit or loss

Find the decimal equivalent of an 18% increase (by adding 1 to 0.18)

Multiply £200 by 1.18

Multiply 500 by 0.77

Use the formula "percentage change" =

This is a positive value so is a "percentage increase"

A percentage increase of 24%

Use "before" × p = "after" to write an equation

"before" × 1.05 = 31 500

Find "before" (by dividing both sides by 1.05)

She was paid £30 000 before the pay rise

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