Recently a lot of math classes have been dealing with percents and sale prices. For some reason, many people have problems with percent problems. I guess they are called “problems” for a reason, but really they’re not that hard to solve- IF you read carefully. Most of the time errors occur it is due to careless mistakes in either not writing down the work, or reading the problem incorrectly.
We can deal with the first situation rather quickly: show your work on paper. Percent problems go with proportions like cheese goes with pizza. Be careful to match the original amount to the 100 in the denominators of each side of the proportion, and keep the percent over the 100 and you’re set. If you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say, “proportion”, look at the previous blog entries below.
The second case is actually the first thing that should happen when you’re starting the problem. Just like my last blog entry said, take your time to read carefully the first time and you’ll save time in the long run. Even with careful reading though, some people still struggle. Most of the time I’ve found this is due to confusion over one little letter. This letter is crucial to the meaning of the problem and the work involved in finding its solution.
How can one stinking letter be so powerful you ask? What is this powerful letter?
A: “f”
The letter “f” has the power to change “of” to “off”. If the problem is “10% of the original price”, the answer will turn out to be less than ½ of the original amount. If the letter is “10% off the original price”, the answer will end up being more than ½ of the original price. People will flock to a sale of "10% of" as it can also be interpreted as "90% off".
One little letter = one big difference.
If you aren’t careful with that one little letter “f” then “art” takes on an entirely new meaning.
That stinks. Read carefully.
Stay radical.