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Higher - Percentages
infoWhy this? Percentages provide a consistent way to compare quantities and interpret relative change. Understanding multipliers, reverse percentages, simple interest, and compound growth or depreciation enables us to analyse financial situations and distinguish repeated proportional change from adding a fixed amount.
scheduleWhy now? This unit brings together earlier proportional reasoning, index laws, geometric sequences, and exponential graphs in practical growth and decay contexts. Recent rearranging and equation solving also support recovering original amounts and finding unknown quantities in percentage models.
neurologyYou need to know
- A percentage is a proportion out of 100, so `p\% = \frac{p}{100}` of a quantity.
- To find `p\%` of an amount `A`, you can calculate `\frac{p}{100} \times A`.
- A decimal percentage can be converted to a decimal multiplier by dividing by 100 (for example, `12.5\% = 0.125`).
- To express one quantity `x` as a percentage of another `y` (with `y \ne 0`), the percentage is `\frac{x}{y} \times 100\%`.
- Increasing an amount by `p\%` is equivalent to multiplying by the growth multiplier `1 + \frac{p}{100}`.
- Decreasing an amount by `p\%` is equivalent to multiplying by the decay multiplier `1 - \frac{p}{100}`.
- Percentage change from an original value `O` to a new value `N` is `\frac{N-O}{O} \times 100\%` (positive for an increase, negative for a decrease).
- Simple interest adds the same amount each time period because it is calculated only on the original principal.
- Simple interest can be calculated using `I = P \times r \times t`, where `P` is principal, `r` is the interest rate per time period as a decimal, and `t` is the number of time periods.
- The amount after simple interest is `A = P + I`.
- Compound interest (and repeated depreciation) changes by a constant percentage each time period because it is calculated on the current amount.
- Compound growth can be modelled by `A = P(1+r)^t`, where `r` is the rate per time period as a decimal and `t` is the number of time periods.
- Compound depreciation can be modelled by `A = P(1-r)^t`, where `r` is the depreciation rate per time period as a decimal.
- Reverse percentages work by dividing by the correct multiplier (for example, if the final amount is after a `p\%` increase, then `\text{original} = \frac{\text{final}}{1+\frac{p}{100}}`).
- In growth and decay problems, the multiplier must match the context and time unit (for example, a monthly rate must be applied monthly, and the power `t` counts the number of months).
rocket_launchYou must be able to
- Calculate `p\%` of an amount by converting `p\%` to a decimal and multiplying, selecting an efficient method (fraction, decimal, or multiplier) where appropriate.
- Express one quantity as a percentage of another by forming the fraction `\frac{\text{part}}{\text{whole}}`, multiplying by 100, and stating the answer with the `%` sign.
- Increase or decrease a value by a given percentage by applying the correct multiplier `1 \pm \frac{p}{100}` and giving the result to an appropriate level of accuracy for the context (e.g. money to 2 d.p.).
- Compute simple interest over time by identifying `P`, `r`, and `t`, calculating `I = P \times r \times t`, and then finding the final amount.
- Calculate percentage change by substituting into `\frac{N-O}{O} \times 100\%` and interpreting the sign to decide increase or decrease.
- Solve reverse percentage problems by writing an equation with the appropriate multiplier and rearranging to isolate the original value (usually by dividing by the multiplier).
- Calculate compound interest or depreciation by setting up `A = P(1 \pm r)^t`, substituting correctly, and evaluating the power accurately.
- Set up, solve, and interpret growth/decay problems by defining variables, forming an exponential equation from the context, solving for the unknown (amount, rate, or time), and checking the answer is realistic (e.g. decay gives a smaller value).