4.

04 Reverse Percentages
Name: Date: Score:

1. A bike was reduced by 30% in a sale. The new price of the bike was $80. What was
the original price of the bike.

2
2. Ben invested money into a bank account which offered 4% annual interest. After one
year the total amount of money in the account was £291.20. Calculate how much
money was in the bank at the start of the year.

2
3. A tutor increase the price he charges per hour by 6% to £21.20 per hour. How much
did the tutor charge before the increase in prices?

2
4. Ottowa is the capital city of Canada, with a population of 890,000 people. Given that
this is 2.5% of the population of Canada, calculate the total population of Canada .

2
 4.04 Reverse Percentages
5. At coat is offered at £105 in a 30% sale. Calculate the original price of the coat.

2
6. A lamp is on sale at £22.05. This is a 10% reduction from the normal price. Calculate
the price of the lamp before the reduction.

7. Lily buys a watch which cost her £170. This was a 15% reduction. Calculate the
original price.

2
8. Ian collects CDs. He now has 54, which is 80% more than he had this time last
month. How many did he have last month?

2
 4.04 Reverse Percentages

9. A new queen size bed is on sale at 25% off, now costing £330. What was the original
price of the bed?

2
10. Alice buys a new motorbike for £2730. This was a 30% increase relative to the old
price of the bike. Calculate the price before the increase.

11. Lauren is given a 12% pay rise. Given that her new salary is £24,080, calculate
what she was earning before the raise.

12. A special edition bag of flour contains 25% more than a normal bag, which is a
huge 650g. What size was the original bag?

2
 4.04 Reverse Percentages
13. A fish tank sprung a leak and has lost 45% of its water, now containing only 363
liters. Calculate how much the fish tank should hold.

2
14. There are 7000 people at an ice hockey match, and the commentator says this is
40% more than they had at the last match. Calculate how many they had at the last
match.

15. A hat now costs £12, but this has been reduced in the sale by 20%. What was the
old price of the hat?

2
16. In total, 480 people signed up to the local gym in the last month. This is 140%
more than the owner expected when he opened it up! How many did the owner
expect to sign up?

2
 4.04 Reverse Percentages

17. Ibrahim sells scarves. Each scarf cost £1.50 to make, which is 50% less than one
competitor but 50% more than another one. What is the difference between the
prices that the two competitors charge.

18. A trader buys 6 rings at £6 each. Given that he got a 30% discount because he
bought so many, how much would it cost to buy one ring?

2
19. A house was originally priced at £120,000, increased by 10% one year, but then
decreased by 10% in the next year. Find the price of the house after the two years.

20. Invent your own question and see if a parent/guardian can answer

0
 4.04 Reverse Percentages
Answers
1. A bike was reduced by 30% in a sale. The new price of the bike was $80. What was
the original price of the bike.

if the price is reduced by 30% then price of the new bike should be 70% of the original
price. If we get original price as 𝑥 then,
$80 = 𝑥 × 0.7
80 [1]
𝑥=
0.7
𝑥 = $114.29
[1]
2
2. Ben invested money into a bank account which offered 4% annual interest. After one
year the total amount of money in the account was £291.20. Calculate how much
money was in the bank at the start of the year.

if he get 4% interest then at the end of the year he should have 104% of the original
amount he had at the beginning of the year. If we get original amount as 𝑥 then
£291.20 = 𝑥 × 1.04
£291.20 [1]
𝑥=
1.04
𝑥 = £280
[1]
2
3. A tutor increase the price he charges per hour by 6% to £21.20 per hour. How much
did the tutor charge before the increase in prices?

if the price is increased by 6% then price of new hour should be 106% of the original price.
If we get original price as 𝑥 then,
£21.20 = 𝑥 × 1.06 [1]
£21.20
𝑥=
1.06
𝑥 = £20
[1]
2
4. Ottowa is the capital city of Canada, with a population of 890,000 people. Given that
this is 2.5% of the population of Canada, calculate the total population of Canada .

If the total population is 𝑥 then,

0.025𝑥 = 890,000
[1]
𝑥 = 890,000 ÷ 0.025
𝑥 = 35,600,000
[1]

2
 4.04 Reverse Percentages
Answers
5. At coat is offered at £105 in a 30% sale. Calculate the original price of the coat.

if the price is reduced by 30% then price of the coat should be 70% of the original price. If
we get original price as 𝑥 then,
£105 = 𝑥 × 0.7
[1]
£105
𝑥=
0.7
𝑥 = £150
[1]
2
6. A lamp is on sale at £22.05. This is a 10% reduction from the normal price. Calculate
the price of the lamp before the reduction.

if the price is reduced by 10% then price of the lamp should be 90% of the original price. If
we get original price as 𝑥 then,
£22.05 = 𝑥 × 0.9
[1]
£22.05
𝑥=
0.9
𝑥 = £24.50
[1]
2

7. Lily buys a watch which cost her £170. This was a 15% reduction. Calculate the
original price.

if the price is reduced by 15% then price of the watch should be 85% of the original price. If
we get original price as 𝑥 then,
£170 = 𝑥 × 0.85 [1]
£170
𝑥=
0.85
𝑥 = £200
[1]

2
8. Ian collects CDs. He now has 54, which is 80% more than he had this time last
month. How many did he have last month?

If we get the number of CDs he had last month as 𝑥 then this month he should have 180%
𝑥 number of CDs.
54 = 𝑥 × 1.8
[1]
54
𝑥=
1.8
𝑥 = 30
[1]
2
 4.04 Reverse Percentages
Answers
9. A new queen size bed is on sale at 25% off, now costing £330. What was the original
price of the bed?

if the price is reduced by 25% then price of the bed should be 75% of the original price. If
we get original price as 𝑥 then,
£330 = 𝑥 × 0.75
[1]
£330
𝑥=
0.75
𝑥 = £440
[1]
2
10. Alice buys a new motorbike for £2730. This was a 30% increase relative to the old
price of the bike. Calculate the price before the increase.

if the price is increased by 30% then price of bike should be 130% of the original price. If
we get original price as 𝑥 then,
£2730 = 𝑥 × 1.3 [1]
£2730
𝑥=
1.3
𝑥 = £2100
[1] 2

11. Lauren is given a 12% pay rise. Given that her new salary is £24,080, calculate
what she was earning before the raise.

if the pay is increased by 12% then new pay after rise should be 112% of the original pay. If
we get original pay as 𝑥 then,
£24080 = 𝑥 × 1.12
[1]
£24,080
𝑥=
1.12
𝑥 = £21,500
[1]

12. A special edition bag of flour contains 25% more than a normal bag, which is a
huge 650g. What size was the original bag?
if the size of a bag is increased by 25% then new weight should be 125% of the original
weight. If we get original weight as 𝑥 then,
650g = 𝑥 × 1.25
[1]
650g
𝑥=
1.25
𝑥 = 520 g [1]
2
 4.04 Reverse Percentages
Answers
13. A fish tank sprung a leak and has lost 45% of its water, now containing only 363
liters. Calculate how much the fish tank should hold.

if the amount of water is decreased by 45% then amount of water now in the tank should be
55% of the original amount. If we get original amount as 𝑥 then,
363 L = 𝑥 × 0.55 [1]
363 L
𝑥=
0.55
𝑥 = 660 𝐿
[1]
2
14. There are 7000 people at an ice hockey match, and the commentator says this is
40% more than they had at the last match. Calculate how many they had at the last
match.

if number of people is increased by 40% then now there should be 140% of the original
amount. If we get number of people had at the last match as 𝑥 then,
7000 = 𝑥 × 1.4 [1]
7000
𝑥=
1.4
𝑥 = 5000
[1] 2

15. A hat now costs £12, but this has been reduced in the sale by 20%. What was the
old price of the hat?

if the price is reduced by 20% then price of the hat should be 80% of the original price. If we
get original price as 𝑥 then,
£12 = 𝑥 × 0.8 [1]
£12
𝑥=
0.8
𝑥 = £15
[1]
2
16. In total, 480 people signed up to the local gym in the last month. This is 140%
more than the owner expected when he opened it up! How many did the owner
expect to sign up?

if number of people is increased by 140% then now there should be 140% more people
than he expected. If we get number of people expected as 𝑥 then,
480 = 𝑥 × 2.4 [1]
480
𝑥=
2.4
𝑥 = 200
[1]
2
 4.04 Reverse Percentages
Answers
17. Ibrahim sells scarves. Each scarf cost £1.50 to make, which is 50% less than one
competitor but 50% more than another one. What is the difference between the
prices that the two competitors charge.

50
price of scarf of the competitor whose 50% less than Ibrahim = £1.50 × 100 = £0.75 [1]
150
price of scarf of the competitor whose 50% more than Ibrahim = £1.50 × 100 = £2.25 [1]

So difference of the prices = £2.25 − £0.75 = £1.50 [1]

18. A trader buys 6 rings at £6 each. Given that he got a 30% discount because he
bought so many, how much would it cost to buy one ring?

The discount causes the price to be 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 × 0.7 = £6 [1]

Price before the discount = £6 ÷ 0.7 = £8.57 [1]

2
19. A house was originally priced at £120,000, increased by 10% one year, but then
decreased by 10% in the next year. Find the price of the house after the two years.

price of the house after first year = £120,000 × 1.1 = £132,000 [1]

price of the house after second year = £132,000 × 0.9 = £118,800

[2]

20. Invent your own question and see if a parent/guardian can answer