Help me with a math problem!

[Marseeya]

PLEASE don't laugh at me! I have a very severe learning disability in math (dyscalculia) and it's a true problem. I need someone to tell me how to do this.

I'm trying to figure out how much a certain number has grown percentage-wise. Here are just a couple of the figures as an example:

1997-1998
total 6233
male 4153
female 2080

2003-2004
total 6954
male 3928
female 3026

Now it's obvious to me the percentage of females grew. But by how much? How much did the total grow by percent?

Do i divide one into the other?

Usually my DH is home to help with things like this, but I can't reach him.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Find out how many the increased by

3026 Females - 2080 Females = 946 increase

increased divided by original amount to get % of growth

946/2080 = 45.48% growth

do the same for males or total population to get % of growth


edit to add, I think that is what you are asking. Or are you asking how much the % of females in regards to the total population grew?

 

[Marseeya]

Got it, thanks! I'm glad I asked, because I would have divided one number into the other, and it just didn't seem right.

 

[BunsenH]

(new # - old #) divided by old # = % change

(3026-2080)/2080 = +45%

Males will be a negative % (decrease)

 

[Fishbone†]

I always remember a teacher once telling me.....

"Is over of = percent."

As in 10 is what percent of 100? Is (10) over (divided by) of (100) = percent (10%)

It helps me to remember when I figure percentages.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Got it, thanks! I'm glad I asked, because I would have divided one number into the other, and it just didn't seem right.

Actually, assuming you divided the right numbers, it would be correct too.

For example: 3026 Females / 2080 Females = 1.45625 (in other words, the later number is 145%, or 45% growth, over the other number).

 

[salmoneous]

Now it's obvious to me the percentage of females grew.

Just to get complicated for a minute - but on something like this, you have to be very careful what somebody is asking.

For the first set, females represent (2080/6233) = 33.4% of the total.

For the second set, females represent (3026/6954) = 43.5% of the total.

If somebody is literally asking how much the "percentage of females" grew, they could be looking at the two numbers above.

What makes this especially complicated is that there is no one single standard way to compare percents. Either of the following approaches could be used:

1) The percentage of females grew by (43.5-33.4) = 10.1%

2) The percentage of females grew by (43.5/33.4 - 1) = 30.2%

 

[Marseeya]

Alrighty! My husband called me and I asked him. He confused me even more.

He started talking about raw percentages and population growth. He told me to divide the female# by the total# for both years and then the difference between the two will be the total growth in percent.

So, if I do what he says, it's around 10%. If I do it the way you all are saying, it's around 45%.

Wahhh. Maybe I'll just skip the numbers.

 

[Marseeya]

Just to get complicated for a minute - but on something like this, you have to be very careful what somebody is asking.

For the first set, females represent (2080/6233) = 33.4% of the total.

For the second set, females represent (3026/6954) = 43.5% of the total.

If somebody is literally asking how much the "percentage of females" grew, they could be looking at the two numbers above.

What makes this especially complicated is that there is no one single standard way to compare percents. Either of the following approaches could be used:

1) The percentage of females grew by (43.5-33.4) = 10.1%

2) The percentage of females grew by (43.5/33.4 - 1) = 30.2%

I hate math.

This is basically what my husband was telling me, but you explained it better.