Finding a percent of a total in a real-world situation
Same formula as the mental version, but the numbers are deliberately awkward and the question tells you how to round. Getting the rounding wrong loses the mark even when the arithmetic is right.
Every step of Finding a percent of a total in a real-world situation explained on video. Pause anywhere; the embed scrolls independently of the page.
ALEKS randomizes the numbers each attempt, but the question shape stays the same. Here are three example versions you might see.
A charity received $1,240 in donations. 7.8% went to administration.
How much went to administration? Round to the nearest tenth.
A 145-page document is 38.6% printed.
How many pages is that? Round to the nearest tenth.
A tank holds 860 litres and is 4.5% full.
How many litres is that? Round to the nearest tenth.
A file that is 318 megabytes is being downloaded. The download is 16.4% complete.
How many megabytes have been downloaded? Round your answer to the nearest tenth.
Convert the percent
Multiply
Round as instructed
Why this is a separate question from the mental one
Exam 1 asks you to find a percent of a total twice, and they are different ALEKS topics. The earlier one uses round numbers and expects mental arithmetic. This one uses 16.4% of 318 and tells you how to round.
The formula never changes. What changes is that here the marks are in the last step: converting the percent correctly and rounding to the place the question named.