The amount of working students increased 10% to 77%, what was the amount previous to the increased?

Question

 Can you please help me solve this question with step by step answers so I can understand?

Answer 1

Let x = the original amount of working students, and let's convert those percents to decimals: 10% = 0.1 and 77% = 0.77.

The original amount of working students (x) increased 10%. That means it increased by 0.1x. So, the current amount of working students (0.77) equals x plus that increase of 0.1x. We can set up an equation using those numbers:

x + 0.1x = 0.77
1.1x = 0.77
x = 0.7

So, converting back to percents, the original amount of working students was 0.7 = 70%.