Q:

There were 80 boys and 95 girls on the middle school track team last year this year the number of boys increased by 15% well the number of girls decreased by 20% was there an overall increase or decrease in the number of students on the track team calculate the overall percent of change in the number of students on the track team A. 1% increaseB.4% increaseC.17.7% increaseD.1% decrease E.4% decreaseF.17.7% decreasePlease help

Accepted Solution

A:
Answer:E. 4% decreaseStep-by-step explanation:To find out if we had an increase or a decrease, we will first need to set out variables.80 boys 95 girlsSo last year we had a total of:80 + 95 = 175 Track team membersThis year we had an increase in the number of boys.15% boys or 0.15Now since it's an increase, we add 1 to 0.15.Total number of boys = 80 x (1.15)Total number of boys = 92Then we had a decrease in the number of girls.20% girls or 0.20Now we take the number of girls and multiply them by 0.20 and subtract the amount we get to the number of girls initially.Total number of girls = 95 - (95 x 0.20) Total number of girls = 95 - 19 Total number of girls = 76So all together we have:92 boys + 76 girls = 168Now let's get the difference of the number of members last year and this year.175 - 168 = 7So we have 7 less members from last year.Now we find how many percent 7 members is of 175 members.Now we divide 7 by 175.7 / 175 = 0.04Then we multiply 0.04 by 100 to get the percentage value.0.04 x 100 = 4%So since we know that we have less than the initial number of members, then it means that it is a decrease.So we had a 4% decrease in the number of members.