Solving Percent Problems

 
Learning Objective(s)
         Identify the amount, the base, and the percent in a percent problem.
         Find the unknown in a percent problem.
 
Introduction
Percents are a ratio of a number and 100. So they are easier to compare than fractions, as they
always have the same denominator, 100. A store may have a 10% off sale. The amount saved
is always the same portion or fraction of the price, but a higher price means more money is
taken off. Interest rates on a saving account work in the same way. The more money you put in
your account, the more money you get in interest. It’s helpful to understand how these percents
are calculated.
 
Parts of a Percent Problem
Jeff has a coupon at the Guitar Store for 15% off any purchase of $100 or more. He wants to
buy a used guitar that has a price tag of $220 on it. Jeff wonders how much money the coupon
will take off the original $220 price.
 
Problems involving percents have any three quantities to work with: the percent, the amount,
and the base.
 
The percent has the percent symbol (%) or the word “percent.” In the problem above, 15% is the
percent off the purchase price.
 
The base is the whole amount. In the problem above, the whole price of the guitar is $220,
which is the base.
 
The amount is the number that relates to the percent. It is always part of the whole. In the
problem above, the amount is unknown. Since the percent is the percent off, the amount will be
the amount off of the price.
 
You will return to this problem a bit later. The following examples show how to identify the three
parts, the percent, the base, and the amount.
 
Example
Problem Identify the percent, amount, and base in this
problem.
30 is 20% of what number?
  Percent: The percent is the number with the %
symbol: 20%.
  Base: The base is the whole amount, which in this case is unknown.

  Amount: The amount based on the percent is 30.

Answer Percent = 20%
Amount = 30
Base = unknown
 
The previous problem states that 30 is a portion of another number. That means 30 is the amount. Note that this problem could be rewritten: 20% of what number is
30?
 
Identify the percent, base, and amount in this problem:
 
What percent of 30 is 3?
 
Show/Hide Answer
 
 
 
Solving with Equations
Percent problems can be solved by writing equations. An equation uses an equal sign (= ) to
show that two mathematical expressions have the same value.
 
Percents are fractions, and just like fractions, when finding a percent (or fraction, or portion) of
another amount, you multiply.
 
The percent of the base is the amount.
 
Percent of the Base is the Amount.
 
Percent  Base = Amount
 
In the examples below, the unknown is represented by the letter n. The unknown can be
represented by any letter or a box   or even a question mark.
 
Example
Problem Write an equation that represents the following problem.
30 is 20% of what number?
  20% of what number is 30? Rewrite the problem in the form
“percent of base is amount.”
  Percent is:   20% Identify the percent, the base,
Base is:       unknown and the amount.
Amount is:   30
  Percent  Base = Amount Write the percent equation.
     20%   n = 30 using nfor the base, which is the
unknown value.
Answer 20%  n = 30.  
 
Once you have an equation, you can solve it and find the unknown value. To do this, think about
the relationship between multiplication and division. Look at the pairs of multiplication and
division facts below, and look for a pattern in each row.
 
Multiplication Division
 2  3 = 6 6÷2=3

8  5 = 40 40 ÷ 8 = 5

7  4 = 28 28 ÷ 7 = 4

6  9 = 54 54 ÷ 6 = 9
 
Multiplication and division are inverse operations. What one does to a number, the other
“undoes.”
 
When you have an equation such as 20%  n = 30, you can divide 30 by 20% to find the
unknown: n =  30 ÷ 20%.
 
You can solve this by writing the percent as a decimal or fraction and then dividing.
 
n = 30 ÷ 20% =  30 ÷ 0.20 = 150
 
 
Example
Problem What percent of 72 is 9?
  Percent: unknown Identify the percent, base, and
Base:     72 amount.
Amount: 9
  n  72 = 9 Write the percent equation:
Percent  Base = Amount.
Use nfor the unknown (percent).
  n = 9 ÷ 72 Divide to undo the multiplication
of n times 72.
  Divide 9 by 72 to find the value forn, the unknown.

  n = 0.125 Move the decimal point two

  places to the right to write the
n = 12.5% decimal as a percent.
Answer 12.5% of 72 is 9.  
 
You can estimate to see if the answer is reasonable. Use 10% and 20%, numbers close to 12.5%,
to see if they get you close to the answer.
 
10% of 72 = 0.1  72 = 7.2
20% of 72 = 0.2  72 = 14.4
 
Notice that 9 is between 7.2 and 14.4, so 12.5% is reasonable since it is between 10% and
20%.
 
 
Example
Problem What is 110% of 24?
  Percent:  110% Identify the percent, the base,
Base:      24 and the amount.
Amount:  unknown
  110%  24 = n Write the percent equation.
Percent  Base = Amount.
The amount is unknown, so
use n.
  1.10  24 = n Write the percent as a decimal
  by moving the decimal point two
  places to the left.
   
1.10  24 = 26.4 = n Multiply 24 by 1.10 or 1.1.
Answer 26.4 is 110% of 24.  
 
This problem is a little easier to estimate. 100% of 24 is 24. And 110% is a little bit more than
24. So, 26.4 is a reasonable answer.
 
 
18 is what percent of 48?
 
A) 0.375%
B) 8.64%
C) 37.5%
D) 864%
 
Show/Hide Answer
 
 
 
Using Proportions to Solve Percent Problems
Percent problems can also be solved by writing a proportion. A proportion is an equation that
sets two ratios or fractions equal to each other. With percent problems, one of the ratios is the

percent, written as  . The other ratio is the amount to the base.
 

Percent = 
 
Example
Problem Write a proportion to find the answer to the following question.
 30 is 20% of what number?
  The percent in this problem is
20%. Write this percent in
 =  fractional form, with 100 as the
denominator.
  The percent is written as the

ratio  , the amount is 30,

and the base is unknown.
    Cross multiply and solve for the
      20 • n = 30 • 100 unknown, n, by dividing 3,000
20 • n = 3,000 by 20.
                n = 3,000 ÷ 20
     n = 150
Answer 30 is 20% of 150.  
 
 
Example
Problem What percent of 72 is 9?
   
 Percent = 
  The percent is the ratio of n to
100. The amount is 9, and the
base is 72.
  n • 72 = 9 • 100 Cross multiply and solve
n • 72 = 900 for n by dividing 900 by 72.
n = 900 ÷ 72  
n = 12.5
   
Answer 12.5% of 72 is 9.
The percent is  = 12.5%.
 
 
Example
Problem What is 110% of 24?
   
Percent = 
  The percent is the
 ratio  . The amount is
unknown, and the base is
24.
                24 • 110 = 100 • n Cross multiply and solve
 2,640 ÷ 100= n for n by dividing 2,640 by
           26.4 = n 100.
Answer 26.4 is 110% of 24.  
 
 
18 is 125% of what number?
 
A) 0.144
B) 14.4
C) 22.5

D)   (or about 694.4)

 
Show/Hide Answer
 
 
Let’s go back to the problem that was posed at the beginning. You can now solve this problem
as shown in the following example.
 
Example
Problem Jeff has a coupon at the Guitar Store for 15% off any
purchase of $100 or more. He wants to buy a used guitar that
has a price tag of $220 on it. Jeff wonders how much money
the coupon will take off of the $220 original price.
  How much is 15% of $220? Simplify the problems by
eliminating extra words.
       Percent: 15% Identify the percent, the base,
Base:  220 and the amount.
Amount: n
  15%  220 = n Write the percent equation.
Percent  Base = Amount
  0.15  220  = 33 Convert 15% to 0.15, then multiply by 220. 15 % of
$220 is $33.

Answer The coupon will take $33 off the original price.
 
 
You can estimate to see if the answer is reasonable. Since 15% is half way between 10% and
20%, find these numbers.
 
10% of 220 = 0.1  220 = 22
20% of 220 = 0.2  220 = 44
 
The answer, 33, is between 22 and 44. So $33 seems reasonable.
 
There are many other situations that involve percents. Below are just a few.
 
Example
Problem Evelyn bought some books at the local bookstore. Her total
bill was $31.50, which included 5% tax. How much did the
books cost before tax?
  What number + 5% of that In this problem, you know that
number is $31.50? the tax of 5% is added onto the
  cost of the books. So if the cost
105% of what number = of the books is 100%, the cost
31.50? plus tax is 105%.
  Percent: 105% Identify the percent, the base,
             Base: n and the amount.
Amount: 31.50
  105%  n = 31.50 Write the percent equation.
Percent  Base = Amount.
  1.05  n = 31.50 Convert 105% to a decimal.

  n = 3.50 ÷ 1.05 = 30 Divide to undo the multiplication

of n times 1.05.
Answer The books cost $30 before tax.
 
 
Example
Problem Susana worked 20 hours at her job last week. This week, she
worked 35 hours. In terms of a percent, how much more did
she work this week than last week?
  35 is what percent of 20? Simplify the problem by
eliminating extra words.
  Percent: n Identify the percent, the base,
                Base: 20 and the amount.
Amount: 35
  n  20 = 35 Write the percent equation.
Percent  Base = Amount.
  n = 35 ÷ 20 Divide to undo the multiplication
of n times 20.
   n = 1.75 = 175% Convert 1.75 to a percent.

Answer Since 35 is 175% of 20, Susana worked 75% more this week
than she did last week. (You can think of this as “Susana worked
100% of the hours she worked last week, as well as 75% more.”)
 
 
Summary
 
Percent problems have three parts: the percent, the base (or whole), and the amount. Any of
those parts may be the unknown value to be found. To solve percent problems, you can use the
equation, Percent  Base = Amount, and solve for the unknown numbers. Or, you can set up the

proportion, Percent =  , where the percent is a ratio of a number to 100. You can then
use cross multiplication to solve the proportion.