Chapter

Fractions and
percentages
Topics Level Key words
numerator, denominator, cancel, lowest terms,
1 Equivalent fractions FOUNDATION
simplest form, proper fraction, vulgar fraction,
mixed number, top-heavy fraction
decimal, fraction, recurring decimal,
2 Fractions and decimals FOUNDATION
terminating decimal

3 Recurring decimals HIGHER

Percentages, fractions
4 FOUNDATION percentage, decimal equivalent
and decimals
5 Calculating a percentage FOUNDATION quantity, multiplier

Increasing or decreasing
6 FOUNDATION
quantities by a percentage
Expressing one quantity percentage change, percentage increase,
7 FOUNDATION
percentage decrease, percentage profit,
as a percentage of another
percentage loss

8 Reverse percentage FOUNDATION unitary method

9 Interest and depreciation FOUNDATION compound interest, depreciation

Compound interest
10 HIGHER
problems
Repeated percentage
11 HIGHER
change

What you need to be able to do in the examinations:

FOUNDATION HIGHER

● Understand and use equivalent fractions, mixed numbers and vulgar fractions ● Convert recurring
and simplify a fraction by cancelling common factors. decimals into
● Express a given number as a fraction or percentage of another number. fractions.
● Convert a fraction to a decimal or percentage and vice versa. ● Use repeated
● Recognise that a terminating decimal is a fraction. percentages.
● Understand percentages and their multiplicative nature as operators. ● Solve compound
● Solve simple percentage problems, including percentage increase and decrease. interest problems.
● Use reverse percentages.
● Use compound interest and depreciation.

19
 2.1 Equivalent fractions

Equivalent fractions are two or more fractions that represent the same part of a whole.

EXAMPLE 1

Complete the following.

a 3
4 ➞ ×× 44 = □
16
b 2=□
5 15
12
a Multiplying the numerator by 4 gives 12. This means 16 is an equivalent fraction to 34.
b To convert the denominator from 5 to 15, you multiply by 3. Do the same thing to the
numerator, which gives 2 × 3 = 6. So, 52 = 156 .

The fraction 34, in Example 1a, is in its lowest terms or simplest form.
This means that the only number that is a factor of both the numerator and denominator is 1.
A fraction with the numerator (top number) smaller than the denominator (bottom number) is
called a proper fraction. An example of a proper fraction is 45.
A vulgar fraction has a bigger numerator (top number) than the denominator (bottom number).
An example of an vulgar fraction is 95. It is sometimes called a top-heavy fraction.
A mixed number is made up of a whole number and a proper fraction. An example of a mixed
number is 134.

EXAMPLE 2

Convert 145 into a mixed number.

14 means 14 ÷ 5.
5
Dividing 14 by 5 gives 2 with a remainder of 4 (5 fits into 14 two times, with 4 left over).
This means that there are 2 whole ones and 45 left over.
So, 14 = 5 + 5 + 4
5 5 5 5
=2 4
5

EXAMPLE 3

What fraction of 25 is 10?

The fraction we want is 10

25
We can simplify this:
10 = 2
25 5
because both numbers are divisible by 5.
So 10 is 2 of 25
5

20
 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

EXERCISE 2A

FOUNDATION
1 Copy and complete the following.
□ □ □
a
2
5 ➞ ×× 44 = 20 b
1
4 ➞ ×× 33 = 12 c
3
8 ➞ ×× 55 = 40
d
2
3 ➞ ×× □ =□
□ 18
e
3
4 ➞ ×× □ =□
□ 12
f
5
8 ➞ ×× □ =□
□ 40
2 Copy and complete the following.

a
10
15 ➞ ÷÷ 55 = □
□
b
12
15 ➞ ÷÷ 33 = □
□
c
20
28 ➞ ÷÷ 44 = □
□
d
12
18 ➞ ÷÷ □ =□
□ □
e
15
25 ➞ ÷÷ □5 = □
□
f
21
30 ➞ ÷÷ □ =□
□ □
3 Cancel each of these fractions to its simplest form.

a
4 b
5 c
12 d
6 e
3
6 15 18 8 9

f
5 g
14 h
28 i
10 j
4
10 16 35 20 16

4 Put the fractions in each set in order, with the smallest first.

a
1, 5, 2 b
3, 1, 5 c
7 , 2, 1 d
2, 3, 7 e
1, 1, 1 f
9 , 3, 4
2 6 3 4 2 8 10 5 2 3 4 12 6 3 4 10 4 5

5 What fraction of 20 is:

a 10 b 5 c 4 d 15 e 6?
Write your answers in the lowest terms.

6 Write your answers to this question as simply as possible.

a What fraction of 16 is 12? b What fraction of 45 is 30?
c What fraction of 35 is 21? d What fraction of 48 is 16?
e What fraction of 40 is 15?

7 Convert each of these vulgar fractions into a mixed number.

a
7 b
8 c
9 d
10 e
12 f
7
3 3 4 7 5 5

8 Convert each of these mixed numbers into an vulgar fraction.

a 31 b 55 c 14 d 52 e 41 f 52
3 6 5 7 10 3

g 21 h 31 i 71 j 35 k 61 l 98
2 4 6 8 3 9
9 Check your answers to questions 1 and 2, using the fraction buttons on your calculator.

21
FOUNDATION CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

10 Which of these vulgar fractions has the largest value?

27 31 13
4 5 2
Show your working to justify your answer.

11 Find a mixed number that is greater than 85

11
but smaller than 79
10
.

2.2 Fractions and decimals

Here are three decimals:

0.6 0.62 0.615.
Which is the largest?
Put them in a place value table:

Units . Tenths Hundredths Thousandths

0 . 6
0 . 6 2
0 . 6 1 5

They all have 6 tenths. The largest is 6.2 because it has 2 hundredths. The smallest is 0.6
because it has no hundredths.

EXAMPLE 4

Express 0.32 as a fraction.

0.32 = 32
100
8
This cancels to 25
8
So, 0.32 = 25

You can convert a fraction into a decimal by dividing the numerator by the denominator.

EXAMPLE 5

a Express 83 as a decimal.
3
8 means 3 ÷ 8. This is a division calculation.
So, 83 = 3 ÷ 8 = 0.375

22
 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

b Express 95 as a decimal.
5
9 = 5 ÷ 9 = 0.555 …
The decimal expression does not stop. The dots show that the sequence. of 5s could
continue forever. We call this a recurring decimal. It can be written as 0.5 .
0.375 is called a terminating decimal. The decimal expression stops after three
digits in this case.

EXERCISE 2B

FOUNDATION
1 Convert each of these decimals to fractions, cancelling where possible.
a 0.7 b 0.4 c 0.5 d 0.03 e 0.06
f 0.13 g 0.25 h 0.38 i 0.55 j 0.64

2 Convert each of these fractions to decimals.

a
1 b
3 c
3 d
9
2 4 5 10

e
1 f
5 g
7 h
7
8 8 8 20

3 Put each of the following sets of numbers in order, with the smallest first.

a 0.6, 0.3, 1 b
2, 0.8, 0.3
2 5

c 0.35, 1, 0.15 d
7 , 0.72, 0.71 Convert the fractions to
4 10 decimals first.

e 0.8, 3, 0.7 f 0.08, 0.1, 1

4 20

g 0.55, 1, 0.4 h 11, 1.2, 1.23

2 4

4 Write these fractions as recurring decimals:

a
1 b
2 c
1 d
4 e
1 f
8
3 3 9 9 11 11

5 Say whether these fractions can be written as terminating or recurring decimals:

a
5 b
5 c
5 d
5 e
5
8 9 10 11 12

6 Which is bigger, 7 or 0.87?

8
Show your working.

7 Which is smaller, 2 or 0.7?

3
Show your working.

23
 2.3 Recurring decimals

Writing fractions as recurring decimals is easy.

Writing recurring decimals as fractions is more difficult.
.
Suppose we want to write 0.8 = 0.888... as a fraction:
Write f = 0.888...
Multiply by 10 10f = 8.888...
Now subtract the top row from the bottom.
9f = 8 (When you subtract, the digits after the decimal point cancel out).
⇒ f=8
9
If there are two recurring digits, multiply by 100. If there are three recurring digits, multiply by
1000, and so on.
..
For example, to write 0.36 = 0.363636... as a fraction:
Let f = 0.3636...
Multiply by 100 100f = 36.3636
Subtract 99f = 36
⇒ f = 36 which cancels to 4
99 11

So 0.3636… = 4
11

EXERCISE 2C

1 Write 2 as a recurring decimal.

HIGHER

2 a Write 0.222... as a fraction.

b Write 0.7777... as a fraction.
c Write 0.4444... as a fraction.
d Look at your answers above. What do they suggest 0.9999… is as a fraction?

3 a Write 0.272727... as a fraction.

b Write 0.090909... as a fraction.
c Write 0.636363... as a fraction.
d What do your answers to a, b and c suggest about other fractions which give recurring
decimals? Check your suggestions.

24
 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

HIGHER
4 Write these recurring decimals as fractions:
. .. ..
a 0.5 b 0.24 c 0.48

5 a You know that 13 = 0.3333...

What fraction is 0.03333...?

b What fraction is 0.06666...?

Percentages, fractions and

2.4 decimals

100% means the whole of something. So if you want to, you can express part of the whole as
a percentage.
Per cent means ‘out of 100’.
So, any percentage can be converted to a fraction with denominator 100.
For example:

32% = 32 which can be simplified by cancelling to 8

100 25
Also, any percentage can be converted to a decimal by dividing the percentage number by 100.
This means moving the digits two places to the right.
For example:
65% = 65 ÷ 100 = 0.65

Any decimal can be converted to a percentage by multiplying by 100%.

For example:
0.43 = 0.43 × 100% = 43%

Any fraction can be converted to a percentage by converting the denominator to 100 and taking
the numerator as the percentage.
For example:
2 = 40 = 40%
5 100

Fractions can also be converted to percentages by dividing the numerator by the denominator
and multiplying by 100%.
For example:
2 = 2 ÷ 5 × 100% = 40%
5

25
 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

Knowing the percentage and decimal equivalents of common fractions is extremely useful.
1 = 0.5 = 50% 1 = 0.25 = 25% 3 = 0.75 = 75% 1 = 0.125 = 12.5%
2 4 4 8

1 = 0.1 = 10% 1 = 0.2 = 20% 1 = 0.33 = 331% 2 = 0.67 = 67%

10 5 3 3 3

The following table shows how to convert from one to the other.

Convert from percentage to:

Decimal Fraction
Divide the percentage by 100, Make the percentage into a fraction with a denominator
for example of 100 and simplify by cancelling down if possible,
52% = 52 ÷ 100 for example
52
= 0.52 52% = 100 = 13
25

Convert from decimal to:

Percentage Fraction
Multiply the decimal by 100%, If the decimal has 1 decimal place put it over the
for example denominator 10. If it has 2 decimal places put it over
0.65 = 0.65 × 100% the denominator 100, etc. Then simplify by cancelling
= 65% down if possible, for example
65
0.65 = 100 = 13
20

Convert from fraction to:

Percentage Decimal
Write the fraction as an equivalent with a demonimator of 100 Divide the numerator
if possible, then the numerator is the percentage, for example by the denominator,
3 15
20
= 100 = 15% for example
9
or convert to a decimal and change the decimal 40
= 9 ÷ 40 = 0.225
to a percentage, for example
7
8
= 7 ÷ 8 = 0.875 = 87.5%

EXAMPLE 6
3 7
Convert the following to decimals: a 78% b 35% c 25 d 40.

a 78% = 78 ÷ 100 = 0.78 b 35% = 35 ÷ 100 = 0.35

3 7
c 25 = 3 ÷ 25 = 0.12 d 40 = 7 ÷ 40 = 0.175

26
 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

EXAMPLE 7
7
Convert the following to percentages: a 0.85 b 0.125 c 20 d 83.
a 0.85 = 0.85 × 100% = 85% b 0.125 = 0.125 × 100% = 12.5%
7 35 3
c 20 = 100 = 35% d 8 = 3 ÷ 8 × 100% = 0.375 × 100% = 37.5%

EXAMPLE 8

Convert the following to fractions: a 0.45 b 0.4 c 32% d 15%.

45 9
a 0.45 = 100 = 20 b 0.4 = 104 = 52
32 8 15 3
c 32% = 100 = 25 d 15% = 100 = 20

EXERCISE 2D

FOUNDATION
1 Write each percentage as a fraction in its simplest form.
a 8% b 50% c 25%
d 35% e 90% f 75%

2 Write each percentage as a decimal.

a 27% b 85% c 13%
d 6% e 80% f 32%

3 Write each decimal as a fraction in its simplest form.

a 0.12 b 0.4 c 0.45
d 0.68 e 0.25 f 0.625

4 Write each decimal as a percentage.

a 0.29 b 0.55 c 0.03
d 0.16 e 0.6 f 1.25

5 Write each fraction as a percentage.

7 3 19
a b c
25 10 20

d 17 e 11
f 7
50 40 8

6 Write each fraction as a decimal.

9 3 19
a b c
15 40 25

5 1 1
d e f
16 20 8

27
FOUNDATION CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

7 a Convert each of the following test scores into a percentage. Give each answer to
the nearest whole number.
Subject Result Percentage
Mathematics 38 out of 60
English 29 out of 35
Science 27 out of 70
History 56 out of 90
Technology 58 out of 75

b If all the tests are of the same standard, which was the highest result?

8 Copy and complete the table.

Percentage Decimal Fraction
34%
0.85
3
40
45%
0.3
2
3
84%
0.45
3
8

2.5 Calculating a percentage

To calculate a percentage of a quantity, you multiply the quantity by the percentage. The
percentage may be expressed as either a fraction or a decimal. When finding percentages
without a calculator, base the calculation on 10% (or 1%) as these are easy to calculate.

EXAMPLE 9

Calculate: a 10% of 54 kg b 15% of 54 kg.

a 10% is 101 so 101 of 54 kg = 54 kg ÷ 10 = 5.4 kg

b 15% is 10% + 5% = 5.4 kg + 2.7 kg = 8.1 kg

28
 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

Using a percentage multiplier

You have already seen that percentages and decimals are equivalent so it is easier, particularly
when using a calculator, to express a percentage as a decimal and use this to do the calculation.
For example, 13% is a multiplier of 0.13, 20% a multiplier of 0.2 (or 0.20) and so on.

EXAMPLE 10

Calculate 45% of 160 cm.

45% = 0.45, so 45% of 160 = 0.45 × 160 = 72 cm

Find 52% of $460.

52% = 0.52
So, 0.52 × 460 = 239.2
This gives $239.20
Remember to always write a money answer with 2 decimal places.

EXERCISE 2E

What multipliers are equivalent to these percentages?

FOUNDATION
1

a 88% b 30% c 25%

d 8% e 115%

2 What percentages are equivalent to these multipliers?

a 0.78 b 0.4 c 0.75
d 0.05 e 1.1

3 Calculate the following:

a 15% of $300 b 6% of $105
c 23% of 560 kg d 45% of 2.5 kg
e 12% of 9 hours f 21% of 180 cm
g 4% of $3 h 35% of 8.4 m
i 95% of $8 j 11% of 308 minutes
k 20% of 680 kg l 45% of $360

4 An estate agent charges 2% commission on every house he sells. How much commission
will he earn on a house that he sells for $120 500?

29
FOUNDATION CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

5 A store had 250 employees. During one week of a flu epidemic, 14% of the store’s
employees were absent.
a What percentage of the employees went into work?
b How many of the employees went into work?

6 It is thought that about 20% of fans at a soccer match are women. For one match there
were 42 600 fans. How many of these do you think were women?

7 At a Paris railway station, in one week 350 trains arrived. Of these trains, 5% arrived early
and 13% arrived late. How many arrived on time?

8 A school estimates that for a school play 60% of the

students will attend. There are 1500 students in the school.
The caretaker is told to put out one seat for each person It is not 70% of the
number of students in
expected to attend plus an extra 10% of that number in
the school.
case more attend. How many seats does he need to put out?

9 A school had 850 pupils and the attendance record in one week was:
Monday 96% Tuesday 98% Wednesday 100% Thursday 94% Friday 88%
How many pupils were present each day?

10 Calculate the following.

a 12.5% of $26 b 6.5% of 34 kg
c 26.8% of $2100 d 7.75% of $84
e 16.2% of 265 m f 0.8% of $3000

11 Air consists of 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen (by volume). A man’s lungs have a capacity
of 600 cm3. How much of each gas will he have in his lungs when he has just taken a
deep breath?

12 A factory estimates that 1.5% of all the garments it produces will have a fault in them.
One week the factory produces 850 garments. How many are likely to have a fault?

13 An insurance firm sells house insurance and the annual premiums are usually set at 0.3%
of the value of the house. What will be the annual premium for a house valued at $90 000?

14 Average prices in a shop went up by 3% last year and 3% this year. Did the actual
average price of items this year rise by more, the same amount, or less than last year?
Explain how you decided.

30
 Increasing or decreasing
2.6 quantities by a percentage

Increasing by a percentage
There are two methods for increasing a quantity by a percentage.

Method 1
Work out the increase and add it on to the original amount.

EXAMPLE 11

Increase $6 by 5%.

Work out 5% of $6: (5 ÷ 100) × 6 = $0.30

Add the $0.30 to the original amount: $6 + $0.30 = $6.30

Method 2
Use a multiplier. An increase of 6% is equivalent to the original 100% plus the extra 6%.
This is a total of 106% and is equivalent to the multiplier 1.06

EXAMPLE 12

Increase $6.80 by 5%.

A 5% increase is a multiplier of 1.05

So $6.80 increased by 5% is $6.80 × 1.05 = $7.14

EXERCISE 2F

1 What multiplier is used to increase a quantity by:

FOUNDATION
a 10% b 3% c 20% d 7% e 12%?

2 Increase each of the following by the given percentage. (Use any method you like.)
a $60 by 4% b 12 kg by 8%
c 450 g by 5% d 545 m by 10%
e $34 by 12% f $75 by 20%
g 340 kg by 15% h 670 cm by 23%
i 130 g by 95% j $82 by 75%
k 640 m by 15% l $28 by 8%

31
FOUNDATION CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

3 Azwan, who was on a salary of $27 500, was given a pay rise of 7%. What is his
new salary?

4 In 2005 the population of a city was 1 565 000. By 2010 it had increased by 8%.
What was the population of the city in 2010?

5 A small firm made the same pay increase of 5% for all its employees.
a Calculate the new pay of each employee listed below. Each of their salaries before
the increase is given.
Caretaker, $16 500 Supervisor, $19 500
Driver, $17 300 Manager, $25 300

b Explain why the actual pay increases are different for each employee.

6 A bank pays 7% interest on the money that each saver keeps in the bank for a year.
Allison keeps $385 in the bank for a year. How much will she have in the bank after the
year?

7 In 1980 the number of cars on the roads of a town was about 102 000. Since then it has
increased by 90%. Approximately how many cars are there on the roads of the town now?

8 An advertisement for a breakfast cereal states that a special-offer packet contains 15%
more cereal for the same price as a normal 500 g packet. How much breakfast cereal is in
a special-offer packet?

9 A headteacher was proud to point out that, since he had arrived at the school, the number
of students had increased by 35%. How many students are now in the school, if there
were 680 when the headteacher started at the school?

10 At a school concert there are always about 20% more girls than boys. If at one concert
there were 50 boys, how many girls were there?

11 A government adds a sales tax to the price of most goods in shops. One year it is 17.5%
on all electrical equipment.
Calculate the price of the following electrical equipment when sales tax of 17.5% is added.
Equipment Pre-sales tax price
TV set $245
Microwave oven $72
CD player $115
Personal stereo $29.50

12 A television costs $400 before sales tax at 17.5% is added.

If the rate of sales tax goes up from 17.5% to 20%, by how much will the cost of the
television increase?

32
 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

Decreasing by a percentage
There are two methods for decreasing by a percentage.

Method 1
Work out the decrease and subtract it from the original amount.

EXAMPLE 13

Decrease $8 by 4%.

Work out 4% of $8: (4 ÷ 100) × 8 = $0.32

Subtract the $0.32 from the original amount: $8 – $0.32 = $7.68

Method 2
Use a multiplier. A 7% decrease is equivalent to 7% less than the original 100%, so it represents
100% – 7% = 93% of the original. This is a multiplier of 0.93

EXAMPLE 14

Decrease $8.60 by 5%.

A decrease of 5% is a multiplier of 0.95

So $8.60 decreased by 5% is $8.60 × 0.95 = $8.17

EXERCISE 2G

1 What multiplier is used to decrease a quantity by:

FOUNDATION
a 8% b 15% c 25% d 9% e 12%?

2 Decrease each of the following by the given percentage. (Use any method you like.)
a $10 by 6% b 25 kg by 8%
c 236 g by 10% d 350 m by 3%
e $5 by 2% f 45 m by 12%
g 860 m by 15% h 96 g by 13%
i 480 cm by 25% j 180 minutes by 35%
k 86 kg by 5% l $65 by 42%

3 A car valued at $6500 last year is now worth 15% less. What is its value now?

33
FOUNDATION CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

4 A new diet guarantees that you will lose 12% of your mass in the first month. What mass
should the following people have after one month on the diet?
a Gracia, who started at 60 kg b Pierre, who started at 75 kg
c Greta, who started at 52 kg

5 A motor insurance firm offers no-claims discounts off the full premium, as follows.
1 year with no claims 15% discount off the full premium
2 years with no claims 25% discount off the full premium
3 years with no claims 45% discount off the full premium
4 years with no claims 60% discount off the full premium

Mr Patel and his family are all offered motor insurance from this firm.
Mr Patel has four years’ no-claims discount and the full premium would be $440.
Mrs Patel has one year’s no-claims discount and the full premium would be $350.
Sandeep has three years’ no-claims discount and the full premium would be $620.
Priyanka has two years’ no-claims discount and the full premium would be $750.
Calculate the actual amount each member of the family has to pay for the motor insurance.

6 A large factory employed 640 people. It had to streamline its workforce and lose 30% of
the workers. How big is the workforce now?

7 On the last day of term, a school expects to have an absence rate of 6%. If the school
population is 750 students, how many students will the school expect to see on the last
day of term?

8 Most speedometers in cars have an error of about 5% from the true reading. When my
speedometer says I am driving at 70 km/h,
a what is the lowest speed I could be doing?
b what is the highest speed I could be doing?

9 Kerry wants to buy a sweatshirt ($19), a tracksuit ($26) and some running shoes ($56).
If she joins the store’s premium club which costs $25 to join she can get 20% off the cost
of the goods.
Should she join or not? Use calculations to support your answer.

10 A biscuit packet normally contains 300 g of biscuits and costs $1.40.

There are two special offers.
Offer A: 20% more for the same price
Offer B: Same amount for 20% off the normal price

Which is the better offer?

a Offer A b Offer B c Both the same d Cannot tell

Justify your choice.

34
 Expressing one quantity as a
2.7 percentage of another

You find one quantity as a percentage of another by writing the first quantity as a fraction of the
second, making sure that the units of each are the same. Then you can convert the fraction into
a percentage by multiplying by 100%.

EXAMPLE 15

Express $6 as a percentage of $40.

Set up the fraction and multiply by 100%.

6 × 100% = 15%
40

EXAMPLE 16

Express 75 cm as a percentage of 2.5 m.

First, convert 2.5 m to 250 cm to get a common unit.

So, the problem now becomes: Express 75 cm as a percentage of 250 cm.
Set up the fraction and multiply by 100%.
75 × 100% = 30%
250

Percentage change
A percentage change may be a percentage increase or a percentage decrease.
change
Percentage change = × 100%
original amount
Use this to calculate percentage profit or percentage loss in a financial transaction.

EXAMPLE 17

Jake buys a car for $1500 and sells it for $1800. What is Jake’s percentage profit?

Jake’s profit is $300, so his percentage profit is:

profit
percentage profit = × 100% = 300 × 100% = 20%
original amount 1500

35
 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

EXERCISE 2H

1 Express each of the following as a percentage. Give suitably rounded figures (see page 116)
FOUNDATION

where necessary.
a $5 of $20 b $4 of $6.60 c 241 kg of 520 kg
d 3 hours of 1 day e 25 minutes of 1 hour f 12 m of 20 m
g 125 g of 600 g h 12 minutes of 2 hours i 1 week of a year
j 1 month of 1 year k 25 cm of 55 cm l 105 g of 1 kg

2 Liam went to school with his pocket money of $2.50. He spent 80 cents at the shop.
What percentage of his pocket money had he spent?

3 In Greece, there are 3 654 000 acres of agricultural land. Olives are grown on 237 000
acres of this land. What percentage of the agricultural land is used for olives?

4 During one year, it rained in Detroit on 123 days of the year. What percentage of days
were wet?

5 Find the percentage profit on the following. Give your answers to one decimal place.
Item Retail price Wholesale price
(selling price) (price the shop paid)
a CD player $89.50 $60
b TV set $345.50 $210
c Computer $829.50 $750

6 Before Anton started to diet, his mass was 95 kg. His mass is now 78 kg. What percentage
of his original mass has he lost?

7 In 2009 a city raised $14 870 000 in local tax. In 2010 it raised $15 597 000 in tax.
What was the percentage increase?

8 When Ziad’s team won the soccer league in 1995, they lost only four of their 42 league
games. What percentage of games did they not lose?

9 In one year Britain’s imports were as follows.

British Commonwealth $109 530 000
USA $138 790 000
France $53 620 000
Other countries $221 140 000
a What percentage of the total imports came from each source? Give your answers
to 1 decimal place.
b Add up your answers to part a. What do you notice? Explain your answer.

36
 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

FOUNDATION
10 Imran and Nadia take the same tests. Both tests are out of the same mark.
Here are their results. Test A Test B
Imran 12 17
Nadia 14 20

Whose result has the greater percentage increase from test A to test B?
Show your working.

11 A supermarket advertises its cat food as shown. 8 out of 10 cat

A government inspector is checking the claim. owners choose
She observes that over one hour, 46 people buy our cat food.
cat food and 38 buy the store’s own brand.
Based on these figures, is the store’s claim correct?

12 Aya buys antiques and then sells Item Aya bought for: Aya sold for:
them on the internet. Vase $10 5 $84
Find her percentage profit or loss on Radio $72 $90
each of these items: Doll $15 $41.25
Toy train $50 $18

2.8 Reverse percentage

Reverse percentage questions involve working backwards from the final amount to find the original
amount when you know, or can work out, the final amount as a percentage of the original amount.

Method 1: The unitary method

The unitary method has three steps.
Step 1: Equate the final percentage to the final value.
Step 2: Use this to calculate the value of 1%.
Step 3: Multiply by 100 to work out 100% (the original value).

EXAMPLE 18

The price of a car increased by 6% to $9116. Work out the price before the increase.

106% represents $9116.

Divide by 106. 1% represents $9116 ÷ 106
Multiply by 100. 100% represents original price: $9116 ÷ 106 × 100 = $8600
So the price before the increase was $8600.

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 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

Method 2: The multiplier method

The multiplier method involves fewer steps.
Step 1: Write down the multiplier.
Step 2: Divide the final value by the multiplier to give the original value.

EXAMPLE 19

In a sale the price of a freezer is reduced by 12%. The sale price is $220.
What was the price before the sale?

A decrease of 12% gives a multiplier of 0.88

Dividing the sale price by the multiplier gives $220 ÷ 0.88 = $250
So the price before the sale was $250.

EXERCISE 2l
FOUNDATION

1 Find what 100% represents in these situations.

a 40% represents 320 g b 14% represents 35 m
c 45% represents 27 cm d 4% represents $123
e 2.5% represents $5 f 8.5% represents $34

2 A group of students go on a training course. Only 28 complete the course. This

represented 35% of the original group. How large was the original group?

3 Sales tax is added to goods and services. With sales tax at 17.5%, what is the pre-sales tax
price of the following goods?
T-shirt $9.87 Tights $1.41 Shorts $6.11
Sweater $12.62 Trainers $29.14 Boots $38.07

4 Howard spends $200 a month on food. This is 24% of his monthly pay. How much is his
monthly pay?

5 Tina’s weekly pay is increased by 5% to $315. What was Tina’s pay before the increase?

6 The number of workers in a factory fell by 5% to 228. How many workers were there
originally?

7 In a sale the price of a TV is reduced to $500. This is a 7% reduction on the original price.
What was the original price?

8 If 38% of plastic bottles in a production line are blue and the remaining 7750 plastic
bottles are brown, how many plastic bottles are blue?

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 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

FOUNDATION
9 I pay $385 sales tax on a car. Sales tax is 17.5% of the purchase price. How much did I
pay for the car?

10 A company asks their workers to take a 10% pay cut.

Rob works out that his pay will be $1296 per month after the cut. How much is his
pay now?

11 Manza buys a car and sells it for $2940. He made a profit of 20%.
What was the original price of the car?

12 When a suit is sold in a shop the selling price is $171 and the profit is 80%.
What was the original price?

13 Oliver buys a chair. He sells it for $63 in an auction and makes a loss of 55%.
What did he pay for the chair?

14 A woman’s salary increased by 5% in one year. Her new salary was $19 845.
How much was the increase in dollars?

15 After an 8% increase, the monthly salary of a chef was $1431. What was the original
monthly salary?

16 Cassie invested some money at 4% compound interest per annum for two years. After two
years, she had $1406.08 in the bank. How much did she invest originally?

17 A teacher asked her class to work out the original price of a cooker for which, after a 12%
increase, the price was 291.20 dollars.
This is Lee’s answer: 12% of 291.20 = 34.94 dollars
Original price = 291.2 – 34.94 = 256.26 ≈ 260 dollars
When the teacher read out the answer Lee ticked his work as correct.
What errors has he made?

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 2.9 Interest and depreciation

When you put money in a bank you are paid interest each year.

EXAMPLE 20

Boris puts $600 in a bank and leaves it there for 2 years.

He is paid 5% interest every year.

How much does he have after a one year b two years?

It is best to use the multiplier method. To increase by 5% you multiply by 1.05
a After one year he has $600 × 1.05 = $630
b After two years he has $630 × 1.05 = $661.50

In the example Boris was paid $30 interest in the first year and $31.50 in the second year.
The amount of interest increases each year as his money increases.
This is an example of compound interest.
If you buy a new car or a computer or a washing machine, the value goes down each year.
This is called depreciation.
Depreciation is often expressed as a percentage.

EXAMPLE 21

A businessman buys new machinery for $9000.

The value goes down by 20% in the first year and by 10% in the second year.
What is the value after 2 years?

a To decrease by 20% the multiplier is 0.8

After 1 year the value of the machinery is $9000 × 0.8 = $7200
b To decrease by 10% the multiplier is 0.9
After 2 years the value is $7200 × 0.9 = $6480

EXERCISE 2J
FOUNDATION

1 Samir puts $2000 in a bank and leaves it there for 2 years.

She is paid 3% per year interest.
Work out how much she has after a 1 year b 2 years

2 Repeat question 1 if the rate of interest is 6%

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 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

FOUNDATION
3 Luis puts $750 in a bank.
He is paid 5% interest in the first year and 4% in the second year.
a Work out how much he has after two years.
b How much interest is paid to him?

4 Carla puts $6500 in a bank.

She is paid 2% interest each year for three years.
a How much does she have after 3 years?
b How much interest does she receive?

5 Hamid buys a car for $15 000.

The value depreciates by 25% in the first year and 15% in the second year.
Work out the value of the car after a 1 year b 2 years.

6 A factory owner buys a machine for $35 000.

The value decreases by 12% each year.
Find the value after a 1 year b 2 years c 3 years.

7 Marta puts $10 000 in a bank. She is paid interest of 10% a year.
a How much does she have after i 1 year ii 2 years iii 3 years?
b Work out the interest she is she paid i in the first year ii in the second year
iii in the third year.

8 Eric buys a car for $25 000.

The value of the car depreciates by 20% a year.
a Find the value of the car after i 1 year ii 2 years iii 3 years.
b Work out the fall in value i in the first year ii in the second year
iii in the third year.

9 Yasmin has $5000 to put in a bank for 2 years.

Axel Bank offers 2% interest in the first year and 12% in the second year.
Barco Bank offers 7% interest each year.
Yasmin says “2 + 12 = 14 and 7 + 7 = 14 so they will both give the same amount
of interest”.
Is Yasmin correct? Give a reason for your answer.

10 Rory buys a boat for $6000.

The value depreciates by 25% a year.
Rory says “After 2 years it will be worth $3000”. Is Rory correct? Give a reason for
your answer.

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 2.10 Compound interest problems

When you are working out compound interest for a number of years, you can use the
power button on your calculator to find the answer more efficiently.

EXAMPLE 22
Elspeth put $4000 in a bank account. She is paid 6% compound interest.
Work out how much interest she has after 5 years.
The multiplier for an increase of 6% is 1.06
After 5 years she has $4000 × 1.06 × 1.06 × 1.06 × 1.06 × 1.06
You can write this as $4000 × 1.065 = $5352.90
You should be able to use your calculator to find this.
Round your answer to 2 decimal places.
The interest is $5352 – $4000 = $1352

EXERCISE 2K
HIGHER

1 Aglaya has $650 in a bank account. The rate of interest is 8%.

Work out how much she has after 4 years.

2 Rahul puts $3000 in a bank. He is paid compound interest of 4%.

Work out:
a the amount he has after 5 years b the interest he is paid

3 Lee put $1000 in a bank. Find the total value in the following cases:
a 3% interest is paid for 7 years
b 7% interest is paid for 3 years
c 5% interest is paid for 5 years

4 Rania puts $2000 in a bank where she is given 5% interest. Work out the interest she has
a after 1 year b after 5 years c after 10 years

5 A man puts $500 in a bank for 4 years. How much is it worth if the interest rate is
a 2.5% b 5% c 7.5% d 10%?

6 A woman puts $4000 in a bank account. The rate of interest is 5%.

How many years will it be until she has more than $6000?

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2.11 Repeated percentage change

Repeated percentage changes include compound interest and depreciation but there are many
other examples.

EXAMPLE 23
In one year the population of a town increases by 5%.
The next year the population increases by 10%.
Work out the overall percentage change.
You have not been told the initial population of the town. You can work out the overall
percentage change without it.
The multiplier for a 5% increase is 1.05
The multiplier for a 10% increase is 1.1
The combined multiplier is 1.05 × 1.1 = 1.155
This is the multiplier for an increase of 15.5%.
If you want to check that is correct you can choose any population to start with.
Suppose the population is 10 000.
After one year it is 10 000 × 1.05 = 10 500
After 2 years it is 10 500 × 1.1 = 11 550
The increase is 1550 and the percentage increase is 101550
000 × 100% = 15.5%
This is the same answer. It is quicker just to use the multipliers.

EXAMPLE 24
The number of birds of one species in a wood increases by 12% in one year.
The next year it decreases by 15%.
Find the overall percentage change.
The multipliers are 1.12 and 0.85
The combined multiplier is 1.12 × 0.85 = 0.952
1 – 0.952 = 0.048 so this is the multiplier for a 4.8% decrease.

EXERCISE 2L
HIGHER

1 The mass of a baby is 3.00 kg.

One month the mass increases by 5%. The next month the mass increases by 8%.
a Work out the mass of the baby after two months.
b Work out the overall percentage increase in mass.

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HIGHER CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

2 One year the average attendance at a football ground is 8000.

The next year the attendance increases by 20%.
The year after that the attendance increases by 30%.
Find the total percentage increase over the two years.

3 Marsha puts some money in a bank.

The money earns 6% interest for three years.
What is the overall percentage increase in the value of her money?

4 The price of a coat is $750.

In a sale the price is reduced by 30% and then by a further 30%.
a Work out the price of the coat after the two reductions.
b Work out the total percentage decrease.

5 Mathias gets a 15% pay increase every year for three years.
Find his total percentage pay increase.

6 The value of a car decreases by 25% in its first year and then by 20% in each
subsequent year.
Work out the total percentage decrease in value after
a 2 years b 4 years

7 A newspaper says the price of property in the centre of a city is increasing by 15%
each year.
Work out the total percentage increase after
a 2 years b 5 years

8 A tree is 2 m tall and the height is increasing by 10% a year.

Show that if the tree continues to grow at this rate it will be over 8 m tall in 15 years’ time.

9 From 1920 to 1960 the population of a town increased by 31%.

From 1960 to 2000 the population decreased by 17%.
Work out the percentage change from 1920 to 2000.

10 a Show that a 20% increase followed by another 20% increase is equivalent

to a total increase of 44%.
b Show that a 20% decrease followed by another 20% decrease is equivalent
to a total decrease of 36%.
c Find the total percentage change after an increase of 20% followed by a
decrease of 20%.

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 CHAPTER 2: Fractions and percentages

HIGHER
11 Find the total percentage change in the following cases:
a An increase of 10% followed by a decrease of 10%
b An increase of 25% followed by a decrease of 25%
c An increase of 75% followed by a decrease of 75%

12 Look at these two changes:

X a decrease of 13% followed by an increase of 42%
Y an increase of 42% followed by a decrease of 13%
Which has the greater total percentage change? Give a reason for your answer.

45
 Why this chapter matters
Most jobs will require you to use some mathematics every day.
Having good number skills will help you to be more successful
in your job.

The mathematics used in jobs ranges from simple calculations such as addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division, to more complex calculations involving negative numbers and
approximation. You will need to select the right mathematics for the job.

Jobs using mathematics

Engineer –
How many jobs can you think of that require some mathematics? What measurements
Here are a few ideas. do I need to take?
How much of each
Pilot – How much type of material will
Accountant – fuel do I need? be needed?
How much profit
have they made?

Delivery driver –
Doctor – How What is the best
Cashier – much medicine route?
What coins do I need should I prescribe?
to give as change? What
is the best price to sell
my goods at?

Sports commentator –
How many minutes are
left in the game? What is his
batting average?

Baker –
What quantity of flour
should I order?

If you already know what job you would like to do, think about what mathematics you might
need for it.

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