How to find the percent of decrease - PSAT Math

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Question

The cost of a shirt in January is dollars. In February, the cost is decreased by 10%. In March, the cost is decreased by another 10%. By what percentage did the shirt decrease in total between January and March?

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Answer

The best way to answer this question is to plug in a number for n. Since you are working with percentages, it may be easiest to use 100 for n.

We know that in the month of February, the cost of this shirt was decreased by 10%. Because 10% of 100 is $10, the new cost of the shirt is $90.

In March, the cost of the shirt decreased another 10%. 10% of 90 is 9, so the cost of the shirt is now $81.

To find the total percentage decrease, you must divide 81 by 100 and subtract it from 1.

1 – (81/100) = 1 – 0.81 = 0.19

The total decrease was 19%.

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