he freshman class at a major university contains 5160 students. This was a 20% increase over the size of the freshman class the year before. What was the size of last year's freshman class?
Let x be the previous year's size.
So:
5160 = 1.2 x
Solve for x.
To find the size of last year's freshman class, we can use the concept of percentages. We know that this year's freshman class is 20% larger than last year's freshman class.
Let's break down the problem step by step:
1. Start with this year's freshman class size: 5160 students.
2. Determine the percentage increase compared to last year's class. In this case, it is a 20% increase.
3. Calculate 20% of last year's class size. This will give us the increase in numbers.
4. Add the increase to last year's class size to find the size of this year's freshman class.
Let's calculate the size of last year's freshman class using these steps:
1. 20% of last year's class = (20 / 100) * Last year's class size
(Note: When converting a percentage into a decimal, divide by 100.)
2. So, 0.2 * Last year's class size = Increase in class size
To find the size of last year's class, we can set up an equation:
Last year's class size + 0.2 * Last year's class size = This year's class size
Let's solve the equation:
1.2 * Last year's class size = 5160 (this year's class size)
Last year's class size = 5160 / 1.2
Calculating this, we find that the size of last year's freshman class was approximately 4,300 students.