GED Math : Proportions and Percentages

Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Proportions And Percentages

Each student at an Asian-studies school is required to take one of three languages - Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. 15% of the students have chosen to take Korean, and three times as many have chosen to take Chinese. No student takes more than one language. What fraction of the students are taking Japanese?

Explanation:

15% of the students are taking Korean, and three times this, or 45%, are taking Chinese. This leaves

of the students taking Japanese. This is

of the students.

Example Question #12 : Proportions And Percentages

Each student at a college preparatory school is required to take one of three languages - French, German, or Russian. One fifth of the students have chosen to take Russian; there are twice as many students who have chosen to take French as there are students who have chosen to take German. No student takes more than one language.

What percent of the students are taking German?

Explanation:

One fifth of the students are taking Russian - this is

of the students.

This leaves  taking either French or German.

Let  be the percent taking German. Then  percent are taking French. This means

This is the correct response.

Example Question #13 : Proportions And Percentages

Refer to the above figure. The portions of the rectangle are of equal size.

What percent of the figure is white?

Explanation:

Out of the 20 portions of equal size, 6 are white. We find out what percent 6 is of 20 as follows:

Example Question #11 : Proportions And Percentages

One foot on a large map represents 100 miles of real distance. The distance between Harrison and Tyler is 328 miles. To the nearest inch, what is the distance between the two cities on the map?

Explanation:

One foot, or twelve inches, on the map represents 100 miles - a map inch to mile ratio of . If Harrison and Tyler are  inches apart on a map and 328 miles apart in reality, then the map inch to mile ratio is . These ratios must be equal, so we solve for  in the proportion statement:

The cities will be 39 inches apart on the map.

Example Question #15 : Proportions And Percentages

Barry currently pays $580 in rent per month. As a reward for referring some new renters, Barry's landlord will decrease his rent by 20% from January through April, after which it will revert back to the current amount. How much rent will Barry pay from January to December? Possible Answers: Correct answer: Explanation: 20% of$580 is ; for four months, Barry's rent will be

Barry will pay  for four months and  for the remaining eight, for a total of

Example Question #11 : Proportions And Percentages

Julie has a gift card with $500 worth of credit on it. She wants to spend it at the store where she works, because she gets a 30% employee discount; also, the sales tax in the location of the store is 7%. What is the maximum price, before discount and tax, of the merchandise that Julie can buy with the card? Possible Answers: Correct answer: Explanation: Let be the price of the merchandise before the discount and the tax is figured in. Julie gets a 30% discount, so, after discount but before tax, the goods will cost her . Including the tax of 7%, she will pay . This can be at most$500, so we need to solve for  in the inequality