Question

20% of city employees ride the bus to work. This is up 10% from last year. What percent of employees rode the bus to work last year?

Answer 1

18.18% of employees rode the bus to work last year

Explanation:

This question can be solved using a rule of three.

Last year, a proportion of x employees riding the bus was 100% = 1.

This year, 20% = 0.2 ride the bus, which is 100 + 10 = 110% = 1.1 of last year.

So

0.2 - 1.1

x - 1

`1.1x = 0.2`

`x = (0.2)/(1.1)`

`x = 0.1818`

0.1818*100 = 18.18%

18.18% of employees rode the bus to work last year