Question

The number of petty crimes this year fell to 276 from 349 incidents. Find the percent of decrease. Round to the nearest tenth of a percent.

Answer 1

≅20.9%

Explanation:

To find the percent decrease, we need to calculate the difference between the old value (349) and the new value (276), divide that by the old value, and then multiply by 100 to express it as a percentage.

The formula for percent decrease is:

percent decrease = ((old value - new value) / old value) x 100%

Substituting the given values, we get:

percent decrease = ((349 - 276) / 349) x 100%

percent decrease = (73 / 349) x 100%

percent decrease = 20.92%

Rounding to the nearest tenth of a percent, we get:

percent decrease ≈ 20.9%

Therefore, the percent decrease in the number of petty crimes this year is [approximately 20.9%.]