IXL | Solve percent equations: word problems

Leon had both chocolate cake and coconut cake at his birthday party. There were 50 people at the party, and 15 of them picked chocolate cake. What percentage of the people at the party picked chocolate cake?

Write your answer using a percent sign (%).

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Learn with an example

question

The students in Dalton's grade voted to select a guest speaker. 12 students voted for a famous athlete. If there are 48 students in Dalton's grade, what percentage of the students voted for the athlete?

Write your answer using a percent sign (%).

key idea

A percent is 1 part out of 100.

1%
is
equal
to
1
100
or
0.01.

Proportions can be used to solve percent problems.

part

whole

percent

100

solution

Find what percentage 12 is of 48. The part is 12.

The whole is 48.

Let n represent the percent.

Write a proportion to solve for n.

100

12 · 100

48n

1,200

48n

1,200 ÷ 48

48n ÷ 48

25% of the students voted for the famous athlete.

You could also find the answer by writing and solving an equation:

part

percentage of whole

100

48n

100

0.48

25% of the students voted for the famous athlete.

Looking for more? Try these:

Lesson: Percents

Lesson: Proportions

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Teacher tools

Work it out

Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

O.8Solve percent equations

S.5Write a ratio: word problems

Lesson: Percents

Lesson: Proportions

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