Question

There was a surplus of office space in a city, with 400,000 square feet, or 16% of the total office space, vacant. How much office space did the city have?

Answer 1

We are told that 400000 ft^2 is 16% of the total office space. And since percent means per one hundred we can say, letting T be the total office space that:

T(16/100)=400000

16T=40000000

T=2500000 ft^2 (2.5 million ft^2)