GED Math Help: percents

To rent a hall for a party reception (for 1 evening) costs $225. The Hall is also charging $25.50 per adult and $19.95 per child for the meal and reception. Gratuity is 15% of total costs. If 125 adults and 32 children attending the party, what is the total cost.... including gratuity?

Answer: Set up the problem as follows:

First part: (cost of hall + (cost of adult meal)(number of adults attending)+ (cost of child meal)(number of children attending)
Second part: 15% of (cost of hall + (cost of adult meal)(number of adults attending)+ (cost of child meal)(number of children attending)
.
Find the answers to part one and two, and then add them together.
.
Part one- hall and meals: $225 + (125 x $25.50) + (32 x $19.95) = $4050.90.
Part two- gratutity: .15 x $4050.90 = $607.34
.
Total cost: $4050.90 + $607.34 = $4658.24

Have you recently held a reception? How did you calculate costs?

Did you know.....

• is, is equal to, equals, the same MEANS =
  
• of, the product, times, multiple, multiplied by MEANS x or ∙
  
• add, more than, plus, sum, increased by, added to, more MEANS +
  
• subtract, less than, minus, difference, decreased by, less MEANS -
  
• divide, divided by, the quotient MEANS ÷
  
• double, twice, twice as much MEANS 2x or 2 ∙
  
• half, half of, half as much MEANS ½ x or ½ ∙
  

A great math dictionary to use for preparing for the GED test is Usborne Illustrated Math Dictionary. It is a great bargain and less than $15.

GED Skill: Simple Interest

Pamela is taking out a car loan for $12,500 at 6.75% interest for 7 years. How much interest will she pay and how much will her monthly payments be ?
Answer: To find out how much interest Pamela will pay, use the simple interest formula of principal x interest x time: $12,000 x .0675 x 7 = $5670. WOW that's a lot!

To find out how much her monthly payments will be, add the principal and interest ($12,000 + $5670 = $17,670) and divide it by the total months (12 months x 7 years = 84). Finally, divide $17,670 and 84. The monthly payment will be $210.36.

GED Skill: geometry

Dan is planning on on re carpeting his master bedroom, measuring 15ft by 25ft. He is looking at carpeting which costs $9 per square yard. He also has a budget of $300. Assuming that there will be a 10% waste, will Dan have enough money. If not, how much short is he?

Answer: Dan does not have enough money. He is short by about $112.5

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Percents: GED Skill

Karen bought a new sweater for 20% off the original price. If the original price was $49.99 and sales tax is 5.5%, how much did Karen spend on her new sweater?

Answer: First you need to find the actual cost of the sweater (original price minus the 20% off). Take $49.99 x .2 which equals $9.99. $49.99 - $9.99= $40.00 (cost of sweater on sale). Second you need to calculate sales tax (5.5%) on $40.00. Take $40.00 x .055 which equals $2.20.

Finally, you need to add the cost of the sweater, $40.00, and the cost of the sales tax, $2.20 together. $40.00 + $2.20 = $42.20

The answer is $42.20.

There are other ways to also solve this problem. Leave a comment on how YOU would solve this problem.

GED Math Skill: estimating

Sharon is planning a graduation meal for her son. She plans on serving ham. The butcher told her that she should figure 1/2 pound per person. If there will be 67 people at the party, about how big (pounds) should the ham be?

answer: 67 x 1/2 = 33 1/2
about how many indicated estimation, so to be on the safe side, Sharon should get at least 34 pounds.

GED Skill: Add fractions with common denominators

The Smith family is having a party with 11 guests. They are serving 1/4 lb. burgers. If the average is 1 1/2 burgers per guest, how many pounds of hamburger should be bought?

GED Skill: percents

75% of the third grade passed their spelling test. If there are 24 children in the third grade, how many did not pass the spelling test?

answer: 6 children did not pass the spelling test.

GED Skill: Multi Step Problem

Dan decided to landscape the outside of his home and ordered 5 cubic yards of red cedar mulch. Each cubic yard cost $35. In addition he was charged a $35 delivery charge because he was outside the city limits. What was the total cost, including 5.5% sales tax (delivery charge is subject to sales tax).


Answer: Dan will be charged (5 x $35)cost of mulch, plus a $35 delivery charge for a total of $210. Sales tax is calculated at .055 x $210, which is $11.55. The grand total cost for the order is $221.55.

GED Skill Area: Dividing by One-Digit Numbers

Question: An organization collected 140 presents that will be given equally to 7 children. How many presents will each child receive?

Answer: Each child will receive 20 presents each.

If you are reading this blog, you must be studying GED math. Come visit every day for a new math problem. The answer will be posted the next day. Feel free to leave comments!

Good luck on your GED math.