Final answer:
The percent increase in gym membership, calculated from an original 120 members to a new total of 168 members, is found to be 40 percent.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the percent increase in membership at the local gym, you need to use the formula for percent change, which is:
(New Value - Original Value) / Original Value × 100%
In this case, the original number of members is 120 and the new number of members is 168.
Plugging these numbers into the formula, we get:
(168 - 120) / 120 × 100% = 48 / 120 × 100%
= 0.4 × 100%
= 40%
Therefore, the membership increase at the gym was 40 percent.