Write and solve an equation

Question

DiPaloma University had a faculty reduction and lost one tenth of its faculty. If 198 of its faculty were left after the reduction, how many faculty were there originally?

Answer 1

If the school lost 1/10 of its faculty, that is the same as 10%. That means 198 represents 90% of the original faculty members. In other words, 198 is 90% of what number?

 

If we use p = w * %, where p = the portion of the whole and w = the whole, then we can solve this problem. We are trying to find w, which in this problem will represent the original number of faculty members. The quantity p is 198, and % = 90% or 0.90.

 

198 = w * (0.90)

 

w = 198/0.90 = 220

 

There were originally 220 faculty members