Homework Help: MAth

Posted by Caroline on Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 1:57am.

I am working a percent change word problem- 340 employees total and 56 laid off.? percent of decrease in employees.
340-56= 284
284 divided by 340 = 0.835 = 83%

the book has an answer of 16%
what am I missing or is the book incorrect?

MAth - drwls, Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 2:05am
The book is correct. They are asking for the % of decrease, NOT what fraction are left.

56/340 are laid off. That is a reduction of 14/85 = 16.47%
MAth - Caroline, Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 2:23am
I see what you are saying, but how do I work this problem using the percent increase/decrease formula ?
MAth - drwls, Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 7:40am
Use the correct formula.

Percent decrease = (x1 - x2)/x1 x 100, where
x1 is the original value and x2 is the new value, which is less if there is a decrease.

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