Percent Word Problems

1. Mishimoto TV manufacturers claim the viewing area of their 59 cm TV screen is 5% larger than their nearest competitor. If their nearest competitor's screen has a viewing area of 1850 cm2, what is the viewing area of the Mishimoto TV?

2. To advertise a new chocolate bar, a chocolate manufacturer advertises 25% MORE, FOR FREE! If the standard chocolate bar is 50 grams, what is the size of the new bar?

3. Food prices are expected to rise 4.7% in the next year. If this happens, how much will a basket of groceries that costs $125 today cost in one year's time?

4. A voltmeter (which measures voltage) is claimed to have an accuracy of (0.5%. Between what limits does the true value lie, when the gauge reads 24 volts?

5. It is proposed that the Medicare Levy increase from 11/2% of taxable income to 21/4% of taxable income. If your taxable income is $70 000, how much extra would you have to pay?

6. A crazy shopkeeper is selling paint on discount. He offers a 50% discount if you come into the shop wearing a purple shirt, and a further 50% discount if you can say 'In your dreams' backwards. A tin of paint originally costs $64. How much does it cost if you get both discounts?

Type II Questions

1. A dog has a litter of 3 male pups and 4 female pups. What was the percentage of each sex?

2. Troy Simmons made 87 of 156 3-point shots last year. Michael Muilenberg made 34 of 65 3-point shots. Who had the better 3-point shooting percentage? How much better was it?

3. The resistance in a wire increases from 7 ohms to 8 ohms when it becomes hot. What is the percentage increase in the resistance?

4. Out of a batch of 560 motherboards, 14 failed to pass inspection. What percentage failed to pass inspection?

5. By adding an extra person to the assembly line, the number of speakers produced per day increased from 230 to 287. What is the percentage increase?

6. Bowser's PhotoStore is about to change their standard photograph from a 4" by 6" to a 5" by 7". They want to advertise this as follows: ________% larger photographs at no extra cost! What is the missing number?

7. A 23 metre wire cable extends in length by 13 mm under a load of 1 tonne. What is the percentage increase in length?

Challenge Questions

1. Some people claim that the ideal ratio for a triple jump (hop:step:jump) is: 10:9:8. If the current world record of 18.29 metres, set on August 7 1995 by Johnathan Edwards from England, had this ratio, how long was each of the parts?

2. Last year a company made a net profit of $20 000 on sales of $1000 000. This year they made a net profit of $40 000 on sales of $1 000 000. When talking to the shareholders, they claimed that their profit increased by 100%, and asked for a bonus for doing so well. When talking to the union about a possible wage rise, they claimed that their profit only increased by 2%, which hasn't even kept up with inflation.

How did they determine these figures? Which one do you think is correct?

Type III Questions

1. Shelley bought a dress on 40% discount, and saved a massive $60. How much did the dress cost originally? How much did she pay for it?

2. A salesman earned $1500 commission last week, on a commission rate of 12%. What were his total sales for the week?

3. James earned $600 interest last year from an account that paid 71/2% simple interest p.a. How much did he have invested?

4. You own a block of flats. You estimate that if you raise the rent by 5%, you will earn an extra $32 per week. How much is the total weekly rent at present?

5. A steel bridge expanded in length by 4 cm on a hot day. If steel expands by 0.011% on a hot day, what is the length of the bridge?

6. A farmer claims that a new milking process extracts 8% more milk from each cow. If the new milking process gets an average of 7.2 litres per cow, what was the average of the original process?

7. A new process on the factory floor has increased production by 13%. If they are now producing 150 units per day, what was their production level before the new process was introduced?

Mixed Challenge Questions

1. A real estate agent earns commission on a sliding scale, as follows: 6% of the first $30 000 4% on the next $70 000 11/2% of the remainder of the sales price Find the commission earned on a house that sold for $260 000.

2. I bought a motorbike from a friend for $2000. I sold it to another friend for $2500. She decided she didn't want it, so I bought it back from her for $2200. I sold it to another friend for $2000, since he were desperately in need of transport, and that was all that he could afford. What was my total profit or loss on all of these transactions?

2. John bought a car for $20 000. He sold it for a 30% profit. From the money raised from this sale, he bought another car, which unfortunately he had to sell for a 30% loss. What was his overall profit or loss?

4. What single discount is equivalent to successive discounts of 10%, then 20%, then 30%?

5. Using the sliding scale in question 1 above, what was the sale price of a house where the real estate agent earned $5200?