Word problems involving percentages

Word problems involving percentages

A certain class has a total of 40 pupils. If the class has 16 girls;

(a) What is the fraction of boys in the class?

(b) What is the percentage of boys in the class?

Solution

(a) Total number of students = 40

Number of girls = 16

Number of boys = 40 – 16 = 24

Fraction of boys in the class is given by:

$24/40 = 6/10 = 3/5$

Therefore, the fraction of boys in the class is 3/5 of all the students in the class.

(b) The percentage of boys in the class is given by:

$3/5 = \frac{60}{100} = 60\%$

Therefore, the percentage of boys in the class is sixty percent (60%).