•If no initial value for a problem is provided, select one that is convenient to help navigate through the question.
–Example: The current price of a tennis racket is 30% more than its price last year. By what percent must the current price decrease in order to have the same price as it did last year?
To make this problem more manageable, start by picking a convenient number for the price of the racket last year, say $100.
If the price last year was $100, and it rose 30% over the year, the current price is now $130 (100 x 1.3).
The problem asks do determine the percent decrease required for the current price to equal last year’s price. In other words, we are trying to find:
Percent Decrease = (130-100/130) (100) = 23%