Average attendance at a school's basketball games increased from 1000 to 1500 last year. One student said that represented a 150% increase. Explain the student's error.
Please help!
(1500 - 1000) / 1000 = ?
Multiply the decimal answer by 100 to find the percentage.
OK, not enough caffeine.
kidding . . .
probably divided the new total by the old total - which is incorrect.
should be difference divided by old total
The student's error lies in their calculation of the percentage increase. To understand this, we need to determine the actual percentage increase in attendance.
To calculate the percentage increase, we use the following formula:
Percentage Increase = (New Value - Old Value) / Old Value * 100
In this case, the old value was 1000, and the new value was 1500, so we substitute these values into the formula:
Percentage Increase = (1500 - 1000) / 1000 * 100
Percentage Increase = 500 / 1000 * 100
Percentage Increase = 0.5 * 100
Percentage Increase = 50%
Therefore, the actual percentage increase in attendance is 50%, not 150% as the student claimed.
The student made an error by mistakenly using the difference between the old and new values (500) as the numerator without dividing it by the old value (1000) first. They should have used the formula correctly to calculate the percentage increase, which would have given them the accurate result of 50%.