Is the value of the new amount greater than or less than the value of the original amount?
Increase or Decrease? Decrease Percent of Change: 70 %
Practice makes perfect
We want to tell whether each percent change is an increase or decrease. Then, we want to find the percent change. Let's do it one at a time.
Percent Increase or Percent Decrease
Recall that if a new amount is greater than the original amount, the percent change is called a percent increase. If the new amount is less than the original amount, the percent change is called a percent decrease. Consider the given amounts.
Original Amount:&5/4 [0.7em]
New Amount:& 3/8
Before we compare the fractions, let's create a common denominator. We are going to multiply the numerator and denominator of 54 by 2 and simplify.
Now we can see that the new amount is less than the original amount because the fractions have the same denominator and the numerator of the first fraction is greater.
10/8 > 3/8 ⇔ 10 > 3
As a result, the percent change is a decrease.
Finding the Percent Change
To determine the percent change p, we can use the following general formula.
p % =Amount of change/Original amount
From the given values, we can see the original amount was 54, or 108, and the new amount is 38. This is a decrease in the amount. Let's find the amount of decrease.
10/8- 3/8= 10-3/8 or 7/8
The difference between the original amount and the new amount is 78. Now we can use the formula.
Percent of change=Amount of decrease/Original amount
