WORD PROBLEMS - PERCENTS

George made 12 out of 20 free throws at basketball practice. What percent did he miss?

• If he MADE 12/20, how many did he MISS?

Now set up the % proportion then solve.

8

208

20 100

x

20x 800

40%x He missed 40% of his free throws.

1.

Vanessa made 40 out of 50 free throws at basketball practice. What percent did she miss?

• If she MADE 40/50, how many did he MISS?

Now set up the % proportion then solve.

10

5010

50 100

x

50x 1000

20%x She missed 20% of her free throws

2.

Ex. 2

Laura is a salesperson in a retail store and earns $32 per week plus 16% of her weekly sales. If Laura made $256 one week, what were her sales that week?

32 + .16s = 256

-32 -32

.16s = 224

.16 .16

s = 1400

• First – Translate the sentence.

• Then – Solve for s.

Laura’s sales for the week were $1400

3.

Kate is a salesperson in a retail store and earns $44 per week plus 11% of her weekly sales. If Kate made $220 one week, what were her sales that week?

44 + .11s = 220

-44 -44

.11s = 176

.11 .11

s = 1600

• First – Translate the sentence.

• Then – Solve for s.

Kate’s sales for the week were $1600

4.

Ex. 4

The sales tax rate in a certain state is 5%. Find the total price paid for a pair of shoes that costs $39.

5% of 39 is ? • First calculate the amount of tax to be paid.5

39 100

x

100x 1951.95x

This is the TAX, nowADD it to the purchase.

$39 $1.95$40.95

5.

The sales tax rate in a certain state is 5%. Find the total price paid for a pair of shoes that costs $45.

5% of 45 is ? • First calculate the amount of tax to be paid.5

45 100

x

100x 2252.25x

This is the TAX, nowADD it to the purchase.

$45 $2.25$47.25

6.

Sarah works in an appliance store. She gets a commission in addition to her hourly pay. She earns a 5% commission for sales up to $5000 and a 8% commission for all sales in a month above $5000. Last month her sales were $6400. How much was her commission?

• First calculate her commission for the first $5000.

• Next, calculate her commission for the remaining $1400.

• Add the two amounts together.

7.

6400 5000 1400 (.05)(5000) 250(.08)(1400) 112

250 112 362 Her commission was $362.

Jacob works in an appliance store. He gets a commission in addition to his hourly pay. He earns a 3% commission for sales up to $4000 and a 7% commission for all sales in a month above $4000. Last month his sales were $5200. How much was his commission?

• First calculate her commission for the first $4000.

• Next, calculate her commission for the remaining $1200.

• Add the two amounts together.

8.

5200 4000 1200 (.03)(4000) 120(.07)(1200) 84

120 84 204 His commission was $204.