Total useless at percentages (word problems)

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  1. Adventurous's Avatar
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    Total useless at percentages (word problems)
    Guys I need help. I am totally useless with them, i can't visualise them at all in my head. 2 questions:


    Q 32) Exactly 14% of the reporters for a certain wire service cover local politics in Country X. If 30% of the reporters who cover politics for the wire service do not cover local politics in Country X, what percent of the reporters for the wire service do not cover politics?

    (D) 80%

    Answer is D


    Q 3) Of the 9,000 people who voted in a recent election, how many women voted for candidate X?
    1) The percentage of women voting for candidate X was twice the percentage of women voting against candidate X.
    2) 3000 men voted for candidate X.


    Find it really hard to start doing these problems, can you help break down % for me.

    i know simple concepts

    change/old value = percentage change

    and

    % of
  2. webbers's Avatar
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    Re: Total useless at percentages (word problems)
    Q 32) 30% of reporters who cover politics do not cover politics in country X
    So this means that 70% of reporters who do cover politics cover politics in country X
    This is 14% of all the reporters.
    So the % of reporters than cover politics is (14/70)x100=20
    So the % of reporters that don't cover politics is 80%.

    Don't know if I've actually made it any clearer?

    For Q 3) it seems to me that you would need anothe piece of information to do it, I am probably missing something.
  3. Adventurous's Avatar
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    Re: Total useless at percentages (word problems)
    (Original post by webbers)
    Q 32) 30% of reporters who cover politics do not cover politics in country X
    So this means that 70% of reporters who do cover politics cover politics in country X
    This is 14% of all the reporters.
    So the % of reporters than cover politics is (14/70)x100=20
    So the % of reporters that don't cover politics is 80%.

    Don't know if I've actually made it any clearer?
    Hey thanks. Here is what I don't understand about this question.

    I understand that 14% of all reporters do politics in country X.

    If 30% of the reporters who cover politics for the wire service do not cover local politics in Country X, what percent of the reporters for the wire service do not cover politics?
    So here, 70% do not cover local politics in Country X, (14/70)x100=20 gets number of local reporters right? (20 or 20% without a percent?) what's happened to the 30% of the reporters who cover politics globally.

    Doesn't this contradict the first sentence where we are told that 30% of the reporters do not cover politics.

    For Q 3) it seems to me that you would need anothe piece of information to do it, I am probably missing something.
    That is how the question is written.
    Last edited by Adventurous; 01-03-2012 at 11:53.
  4. webbers's Avatar
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    • Location: UK
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    Re: Total useless at percentages (word problems)
    It's 20%, sorry should have put that.
    The 30% is the percentage of politics reporters that don't cover country X, so they still cover politics elsewhere.

    I really can't figure Q 3) out, as it seems there is no way to know the proportion of men to women voting. Maybe ask your teacher about it, there might be an error in the book, or I just can't see something maybe.
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