Proportional Relationships

Question

Students donated 2500 cans of food to the local food pantry last year. They donated 4000 Cans this year. What is the percent increase in he number of cans donated? Show your work please 

Answer 1

First determine how much the number of cans donated increased, 4000-2500 = 1500. So the number of cans increased by 1500. Now compare the 1500 increase to the amount donated last year, 2500. 

 

(1500/2500) x 100% = 60% 

 

 Therefore, students donated 60% more cans this year than they did last year. 

Answer 2

Same as the previous questions. how does 2500 cans relate to 4000 cans. if you just divide 2500 by 4000, you get the percentage of cans last year was compared to this year, not quite what you were after. If you divide 4000 by 2500, you get the percentage of cans that this year is compared to last year. So, 4000/2500=1.6. A quick check, it asks for the increase, so your answer should be greater than 1, and how much greater/less than 1 it is is your increase/decrease, respectively. So the increase is .6, or 60% Like the sales question this can be done another way as well. you could calculate the actual increase and then find it as a percentage of the original. so 4000-2500=1500, and 1500/2500=.6 or 60%

Answer 3

percent increase = increase / original

percent increase = 1500 / 2500, or 0.6, or 60%