Recall that a percent is written with a number followed by the % symbol. Also recall that a percent can be represented as a fraction where the denominator is 100. A fraction represents a part of a whole, where the “part” identifies a portion of the “whole”. To solve an equation where the whole or the total number of items in a group is unknown, identify the values for the percent and the part of the group. Next, use inverse operations to solve.

Question

Recall that a percent is written with a number followed by the % symbol. Also recall that a percent can be represented as a fraction where the denominator is 100. A fraction represents a part of a whole, where the “part” identifies a portion of the “whole”. To solve an equation where the whole or the total number of items in a group is unknown, identify the values for the percent and the part of the group. Next, use inverse operations to solve.

Answer 1

To solve the equation, follow these steps:

1. Identify the values for the percent and the part of the group.

For example, let's say the percent is 20% and the part of the group is unknown.

2. Convert the percent to a fraction.

To convert 20% to a fraction, divide it by 100: 20/100.

3. Set up the equation.

Let's use the variable "x" to represent the unknown part of the group. The equation would be: 20/100 = x.

4. Solve the equation using inverse operations.

To isolate the variable "x", multiply both sides of the equation by 100: (20/100) * 100 = x * 100.
This simplifies to: 20 = 100x.

To solve for x, divide both sides of the equation by 100: 20/100 = 100x/100.
This simplifies to: 0.2 = x.

So, the unknown part of the group is 0.2 or 20%.