You have started working with percent already.  In the previous lesson, you found the percent by dividing the part by the whole.

PERCENT =  PART / WHOLE

The first step is being able to identify which components you are given in a problem and which component you are being asked to find.

Today, let’s look at some examples and try to identify which components are being given and which component you are being asked to find.

Example 1

Chris ate 7 pieces of pizza.  There were 8 pieces of pizza to start.  What percentage of the pizza did they eat?

You are given the PART (7 pieces) and the WHOLE (8 pieces).  The unknown, the component you are asked to find, is the PERCENT.

Example 2

Alyssa’s reading assignment for this week is to read 200 pages.  She is 65% of the way through the assignment.  How many pages has she read?

You are given the WHOLE (200 pages) and the PERCENT (65%).  You are asked to find the PART.

Example 3

Daniel has read 6 books so far this year.  This is 20% of the goal he set for himself this year.  What is the goal he set for himself?

You are given the PART (6 books) and the PERCENT (20%).  You are asked for find the WHOLE.