Question

In a newspaper, it was reported that yearly robberies in Springfield were up 16% to 87 in 2014 from 2013. How many robberies were there in Springfield in 2013?

Answer 1

There were 75 robberies in 2013.

Explanation:

Since there was an increase in 2014 of 16% from the year prior, then the value of robberies in 2014 is the value from 2013 plus 16%, so it is 100% + 16% that is 116%. To solve this problem we can use a rule of three in such a way that:

87 robberies -> 116%

x robberies -> 100%

116*x = 87*100

x = 8700/116 = 75 robberies

There were 75 robberies in 2013.