Business Math: Percentages, Original Price, Value of Investments

1. Of the 45 U.S. presidents, 4 have been assassinated in office. What percent have been assassinated? Round the percentage to two decimal places.

2. The total expenses for Claire's recent business trip were $1040. She put $884 on her charge card and paid the balance in cash. What percentage did she place on her charge card?

3. A TV is on sale for $708. This is after a 25% discount. What was the original price of the TB?

4. The volume of U.S. mail decreased from about 208 billion pieces of mail in 2000 to 202 billion pieces in 2003. What was the percent of decrease? Round the percentage to two decimal places.

5. An investment of $10,000 loses 35% of its value.

a. What is the value of the investment after the loss?
b. By what percent must it increase to recover the loss (get back up to 10,000)? Round the final percentage to two decimal places.
c. Does the answer change if the investment is $15,000?

6. A real estate investor sees an increase in the value of his portfolio from $100,000 to $225,000 in 5 years. What is his return on investment (total percent increase)?

7. Which is better, Scenario 1 - having a stock worth $250.00 that goes up 20% on Monday then drops 20% on Tuesday, or Scenario 2 - a stock worth $250.00 that drops 20% on Monday and goes up 20% on Tuesday? In each case, what is the net percent gain or loss? Show work for both scenarios.

8. A store has clearance items that have been marked down by 60%. They are having a sale, advertising an additional 30% off clearance items. What percent of the original price do you end up paying? (Hint: You might want to start by making up a price for any store item.)