By this point in time, you have probably learned about ratios and proportions. Now you're on to percentages, but what exactly is a percentage?
A percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100 (per cent meaning "per hundred"). It is often denoted using the percent sign, "%", or the abbreviation "pct". For example, 45% (read as "forty-five percent") is equal to 45 / 100, or 0.45.
Remember, percentage is nothing more than a fancy word for proportion.
3400/40 is 85.
To get the final discounted price, you have to take 100-85. This will give you the final discount rate of 15%
Clicking the link below will lead you to a website with many variations of practice problems.
The type of examples includes:
http://www.helpingwithmath.com/resources/wor_percentages.htm
PERCENT WORD PROBLEMS
1. Assume you are the manager of a convenience store, and the local sales tax is 6.5%. At the end of the day, you find sales totaling $3210. What is the amount of tax that will be added on to the sales?
2. A gumball machine contains 51 blue, 128 green, and 93 red gumballs. Find the percent of the gumballs that are blue.
3. The regular price of a tool kit is $39.99. If the tool kit is marked 15% off, what is the sale price?
4. Mrs. Kim is a real estate broker. Her salary is $2650 per month, plus 0.25% of sales. To earn $5000 in a month, how much does she need to sell?
5. Mandy bought a sweater that was marked down 20%. What was the original cost of the sweater if she saved $9.00?
ANSWERS
1. $3210 * .065 = $208.65
2. Total gumballs = 51 + 128 + 93 = 272
51/272 = .1875 = 18.75%
3. 15% * $39.99 = $6.00
Sale price is $39.99 - $6.00 = $33.99
4. $5000 - $2650 = $2350 This is her sales commission
.25% * amount of sales = $2350
.0025 * x = 2350
x = $940,000
5. 20% of the cost = $9.00
cost = $45
