Clever Branch

Percent practice: 6 questions with worked answers

Six percent practice questions, from easy to hard, with worked explanations. Pick an answer to check it, plus the part-whole-percent method.

These questions come from our SHSAT, TACHS and SSAT practice apps. For parents

Most percent problems are about three numbers: the part, the whole and the percent. If you know any two, you can find the third.

The part-whole-percent method

  1. Write the relationship: part = percent × whole, with the percent as a decimal (25% = 0.25).
  2. Fill in the two numbers you know. For “What is 25% of 80?”: part = 0.25 × 80 = 20.
  3. Solve for the missing one. For “15 is what percent of 60?”: 15 = p × 60, so p = 0.25, or 25%.

For percent increase or decrease, divide the change by the original amount. Going from 50 to 60 is a change of 10, and 10 ÷ 50 = 0.2, a 20% increase.

The questions start easy and get harder. Try each one before you look at the explanation.

Practice questions

Each question and explanation was reviewed by a person. Pick an answer to see if you're right.

Question 1
A student council collected $350\$350 at a fundraiser. The council set aside 6%6\% of the money for decorations. How much money, in dollars, was set aside for decorations?
Question 2
In a parking lot there are 4848 cars, and 1212 of them are red. What percent of the cars are red?
Question 3
A school chess club had 40 members last year. This year the club has 50 members. By what percent did the club's membership increase from last year to this year?
Question 4
At Riverside Middle School, 40%40\% of the 500500 students are in the band. Of the students in the band, 25%25\% play a brass instrument. What percent of all 500500 students play a brass instrument?
Question 5
A water tank currently holds 800 gallons. Each day, the tank loses 10% of the amount of water it held at the start of that day. How many gallons will the tank hold after 2 days?
Question 6
A jacket priced at $150 \$150 is marked up 20%20\% for the holidays. In January, the holiday price is then marked down 20%20\%. What is the January price, in dollars?

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