Question 40·Easy·Percentages
A shoe store has 250 pairs of shoes in stock. If 60% of the shoes are sneakers, how many pairs of sneakers does the store have?
For percent-of-a-number questions, immediately convert the percentage to a decimal or a simple fraction and multiply by the total. If mental math helps, break it into easy parts (for example, find 10% of the number and then scale up) to quickly arrive at the correct amount without overcomplicating the calculation.
Hints
Identify what “60% of 250” means
Think about how to rewrite 60% as a decimal or a fraction so you can use multiplication.
Decide on the operation
When a question asks for a certain percent of a total, what operation do you usually use with the total number?
Do the percent calculation
Once you turn 60% into a decimal or fraction, multiply it by 250 to find the number of sneakers.
Desmos Guide
Use Desmos to compute 60% of 250
In the expression line, type 0.60*250 (or (60/100)*250). Look at the numerical output that Desmos shows for this product; that value is the number of pairs of sneakers.
Step-by-step Explanation
Translate the percentage into a number you can multiply
"60% of 250" means you want 60 out of every 100 shoes to be sneakers.
Convert 60% to a decimal or fraction:
- As a decimal:
- As a fraction:
Either form can be used to multiply by 250.
Set up the calculation
To find 60% of 250, multiply 250 by (or by ):
Now compute this product.
Compute and interpret the result
Calculate the multiplication:
So the store has 150 pairs of sneakers, which corresponds to answer choice B.