Question

By what percent will a fraction decrease if its numerator is increased by 20% and its denominator is increased by 50%?

Answer 1

Answer: 20%

Step-by-step explanation:

Lets call one number x and the other one y

first you have the fraction x/y

When you increase the numerator by 20% you get 1.2

when you increase the denominator by 50% you get 1.5

Then you get the fraction 1.2x/1.5y

since fractions are basically division you divide 1.2 by 1.5 which is 0.8

0.8 as a percent is 80%

you subtract that from 100 and you get 20%

Answer 2

Lets find out...

our fraction is 1/2.....
when the numerator is increased by 20%......1 + 0.20(1) = 1.2
when the denominator is increased by 50%....2 + 0.50(2) = 3

1/2 = 0.5....original fraction
1.2 / 3 = 0.4.....increased fraction

 decrease = (original number - new number) / original number...* 100
                 = (0.5 - 0.4) / 0.5...* 100
                 = (0.1 / 0.5)....* 100
                = 0.2 * 100
                = 20% decrease <====