Question

The percent of working students increased 21.7% to 8.9%, what was the percent prior to increase​

Answer 1

Answer:

Approximately 7.3%.

Step-by-step explanation:

What is percentage increase?

$\displaystyle \text{Percentage Increase} = \frac{\text{Final Value} - \text{Initial Value}}{\text{Initial Value}} \times 100\%$.

For this question:

• $\text{Percentage Increase} = 21.7\%$,
• $\text{Final Value} = 8.9\% = 0.089$, and
• $\text{Initial Value}$ needs to be found.

Let $\text{Initial Value} = x$.

$\displaystyle \frac{0.089 - x}{x} = 0.217$.

Assume that $x \ne 0$. Multiply both sides of the equation by $x$:

$0.089 - x = 0.217x$.

Add $x$ to both sides of the equation:

$0.089 = (1 + 0.217)x$.

$\displaystyle x = \frac{0.089}{1 + 0.217} = 0.0731 \approx 7.3\%$.

In other words, the initial percentage is approximately 7.3%.