Question

If 43 of the 148 reams of paper purchased by a department are used, what is the percentage that remains?

Answer 1

100%/x%=148/43
(100/x)*x=(148/43)*x       - we multiply both sides of the equation by x
100=3.44186046512*x       - we divide both sides of the equation by (3.44186046512) to get x
100/3.44186046512=x 
29.0540540541=x 
x=29.0540540541

now we have: 
43 is 29.0540540541% of 148

Answer 2

First, calculate how many reams remain
remaining = 148 - 43
remaining = 105
There are 105 reams of paper remains

Second, change 105 reams into percentage
p = $\dfrac{105}{148} \times 100 \%$
p = $\left(\dfrac{105 \times 100}{148}\right) \%$
p = $\left(\dfrac{10,500}{148}\right) \%$
p = 70.945945945...%
to the nearest tenth
p = 70.9%

The percentage of paper remains is approximately 70.9%