This activity will help you practice what you've learned about solving percent word problems. Before we begin, you will need some white sheets of paper and a pen or pencil. Then look for an old object, such as a shirt, a toy, a book, or a pen, that you want to sell to your mother or father.
Suppose you want to sell your CD rack with a 20% discount. Tell your mother and your father that they're going to save $18 if they buy it. If they ask what the original price of the CD rack was, be prepared. That's why this activity will teach you how to become a problem solver.
Now, your word problem will be: 20% of what number is 18? Can you make an equation for this number?
.20 x = 18
Get a paper and pen and solve to get the fraction for the box. Remember, the number that is alone on one side of the equation goes on top. So your fraction will be Now put that fraction in the box. Your equation now looks like this:
.20 x = 18
What are we going to do next? We'll convert the fraction into a decimal number by dividing. So 18 divided by .20 equals 90 (18 ÷ .20 = 90). The original price of the CD rack is $90. Our new equation looks like this:
.20 x 90 = 18
Now let's make a discount tag price for the CD rack. The tag price should read "20% discount. Save $18!"
You want more? Get another object and sell it to your mother or father. Solve it using the following word problem:
"12% of what number is 9?" When you're done, put a price tag on the object you want to sell.
Ready to move on to the next lesson?
Converting Fractions, Decimals, and Whole Numbers
