Percentages and Ratios Practice Questions

Use these Percentages and Ratios practice questions to review percent equations, percent increase, sales tax, discounts, area changes, and ratio word problems. After answering each question, open the explanation to see the step-by-step solution.

Percentages and Ratios Topics Covered

  • Finding a percent of a number
  • Finding what percent one number is of another
  • Calculating sales tax
  • Finding percent increase
  • Finding original prices before tax or discounts
  • Understanding percentage change
  • Solving ratio word problems

Percentages and Ratios Practice Questions

1. 60% of what number is 45?

  1. 27
  2. 30
  3. 60
  4. 75
  5. 90
Show Answer

Answer: D. 75

Percent means parts per hundred, so 60% can be written as 0.60.

Let x represent the unknown number.

0.60x = 45

Divide both sides by 0.60:

x = 75

Therefore, 60% of 75 is 45.

2. What percent of 48 is 60?

  1. 65%
  2. 80%
  3. 85%
  4. 90%
  5. 125%
Show Answer

Answer: E. 125%

Let x represent the percent written as a decimal.

x × 48 = 60

Divide both sides by 48:

x = 1.25

Convert 1.25 to a percent by multiplying by 100.

1.25 × 100% = 125%

Therefore, 60 is 125% of 48.

3. Nancy pays 6% sales tax on a car that costs $22,000. What is the cost of the car including sales tax?

  1. $23,320
  2. $23,540
  3. $24,200
  4. $31,200
  5. $35,200
Show Answer

Answer: A. $23,320

First, find the amount of sales tax.

6% = 0.06

0.06 × $22,000 = $1,320

Now add the sales tax to the original cost of the car.

$22,000 + $1,320 = $23,320

The cost of the car including sales tax is $23,320.

4. The price of a company’s stock increases from $32 per share to $40 per share in a three-day period. By what percent did the stock’s price increase?

  1. 20%
  2. 25%
  3. 45%
  4. 70%
  5. 80%
Show Answer

Answer: B. 25%

To find percent increase, first find the amount of increase.

$40 − $32 = $8

Then divide the increase by the original value.



8
32

= 0.25

Convert 0.25 to a percent.

0.25 × 100% = 25%

The stock’s price increased by 25%.

5. What is 78% of 50?

  1. 32
  2. 35
  3. 36
  4. 39
  5. 41
Show Answer

Answer: D. 39

Convert 78% to a decimal.

78% = 0.78

Multiply 0.78 by 50.

0.78 × 50 = 39

Therefore, 78% of 50 is 39.

6. The width of a square increases by 30%. By what percent does its area increase?

  1. 30%
  2. 69%
  3. 90%
  4. 105%
  5. 900%
Show Answer

Answer: B. 69%

Choose an easy original side length, such as 10.

A 30% increase of 10 is 3, so the new side length is 13.

Original area:

A = 102 = 100

New area:

A = 132 = 169

Find the increase in area:

169 − 100 = 69

Now divide the increase by the original area.



69
100

= 0.69

Convert 0.69 to a percent.

0.69 × 100% = 69%

The area increases by 69%.

7. After sales tax, a book costs $25.20. If sales tax is 5%, how much does the book cost before taxes?

  1. $23.50
  2. $23.94
  3. $24.00
  4. $24.23
  5. $26.46
Show Answer

Answer: C. $24.00

Let x represent the price of the book before tax.

A 5% sales tax means the final price is 105% of the original price.

105% = 1.05

1.05x = 25.20

Divide both sides by 1.05:

x = 24

The book costs $24.00 before taxes.

8. A coffee table is on sale for $78.80, which is 20% off the regular price. What is the regular price of the coffee table?

  1. $86.68
  2. $94.56
  3. $96.00
  4. $98.50
  5. $105.67
Show Answer

Answer: D. $98.50

Let x represent the regular price of the coffee table.

If the table is 20% off, then the sale price is 80% of the regular price.

80% = 0.80

0.80x = 78.80

Divide both sides by 0.80:

x = 98.50

The regular price of the coffee table is $98.50.

9. A number increased by 20%, and the resulting number then decreased by 30%. By what overall percentage did the original value increase or decrease?

  1. It decreased by 21%
  2. It decreased by 16%
  3. It decreased by 10%
  4. It decreased by 8%
  5. It increased by 10%
Show Answer

Answer: B. It decreased by 16%

Choose an easy original number, such as 100.

Increase 100 by 20%:

100 + 20 = 120

Now decrease 120 by 30%.

30% of 120 is 36.

120 − 36 = 84

The value changed from 100 to 84, so it decreased by 16.



16
100

= 0.16

0.16 × 100% = 16%

The original value decreased by 16%.

10. In a school with a total of 480 students, the ratio of boys to girls is 8:7. How many girls attend the school?

  1. 212
  2. 224
  3. 256
  4. 322
  5. 420
Show Answer

Answer: B. 224

The ratio of boys to girls is 8:7.

This means there are 8 + 7 = 15 total parts.

Girls make up 7 of the 15 parts.

Girls =


7
15

× 480

480 ÷ 15 = 32

7 × 32 = 224

There are 224 girls in the school.

How to Use These Percentages and Ratios Practice Questions

Start by answering each question before opening the explanation. Then compare your work to the step-by-step solution. If you miss a question, review the percent or ratio setup before moving on.

For extra review, focus on the question types you miss most often. Percent and ratio problems often depend on identifying the original amount, converting percents to decimals, and setting up the correct equation before calculating.

 

Last Updated: July 6, 2026