in one college class, 60% of the students made over 80 on a test. if 15 students made over 80, how many were in the class?

Question

college algebra midterm and study guide for final. having a hard time understanding the questions. please help

Answer 1

Try to put the statement into an equation.

 

First set up a variable. The question asks, how many were in the class.  So let's call that x.

 

The problem says: 60% of the students made over 80.  That means that 60% of x made over 80, which is the same as .6 x.

 

It also says: 15 students made over 80.  That means that .6 x, which we got in the previous step,  must be equal to 15.

 

So set up the equation:

.6 x = 15

 

Divide both sides by .6

x = 15 / .6

x = 25

 

So the answer is that 25 students were in the class.

 

 

Answer 2

Hello, thank you for taking the time to post your question!

If 15 students represented 60% of the total, that means that the total number of students in the class is

15 / 0.60 = 25

I hope that helps you get moving in a better direction on this type of question! Feel free to reach out if you have any additional questions beyond that :)