Question

one city reported that the number of fires caused by arson had dropped 17% in one year to 185. find the number of fires caused by arson in the previous year. (round ur answer to the nearest whole number as needed)

Answer 1

Let x represent the number of fires caused by arson in the previous year.

We were told that it dropped by 17%

Percentage is expressed in terms of 100.

Thus, the amount by which it dropped would be

17/100 * x = 0.17x

Due to this drop, the number of fires caused by arson had dropped to 185. Thus,

x - 0.17x = 185

0.83x = 185

x = 185/0.83

x = 222.892

Rouding to the nearest whole number, the number of fires caused by arson in the previous year is 223