SSAT Middle Level Math : Numbers and Operations

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Middle Level Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #2021 : Ssat Middle Level Quantitative (Math)

The sales tax for a given city is 8.5%. How much will someone shopping there pay for $139.34 worth of groceries, after tax is figured in?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To calculate the tax, multiply 8.5%. or, equivalently, 0.085, by $139.34, rounding to the nearest cent:

Add the tax to the price before tax:

The amount paid will be $151.18.

Example Question #5 : Percentages

Exactly  of the plants in a garden are tomato plants.  Which of the following could be the total number of plants in the garden?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The total number of plants has to be divisible by 3.  Of the answer choices, the only one that is divisible by 3 is 18.  You can check this because numbers that are divisible have the sum of their digits also divisible by 3. For example,

 

which is divisible by 3, so 18 is divisible by 3.

Example Question #561 : Arithmetic

330 is 75% of what number?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

330 is 75% of a number we will call ; alternatively, 0.75 multiplied by  is equal to 330. Set up this equation and solve for :

Example Question #562 : Arithmetic

88 is  % of what number? 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We can rewrite  % as 12.5%. 88 is 12.5% of a number , or, equivalently, 0.125 multiplied by a number  is equal to 88. We can write this as an equation and solve for :

Example Question #3 : How To Find The Whole From The Part With Percentage

32 is  % of what number?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We can rewrite  % as 2.5%. 32 is 2.5% of a number , or, equivalently, 0.025 multiplied by a number  is equal to 32. We can write this as an equation and solve for :

 

Example Question #5 : How To Work With Percentages

To get on the ballot for student body president, a student must turn in a petition with the signatures of 3% of the students. If there are 5,319 students, how many signatures must a student get to be on that ballot? (Nearest whole person)

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

3% of 5,319 can be calculated by multiplying 5,319 by 0.03, the decimal equivalent of 3%:

Multiply 5,319 by 3, then move the decimal point so that two digits are to the right:

,

so

Rounded to the nearest whole number, this is 160 signatures.

Example Question #571 : Arithmetic

3,200 is 160% of what number?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Set up the proportion statement and solve for  by cross-multiplying:

Example Question #572 : Arithmetic

12 is  of what number?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Set up the proportion statement and solve for  by cross-multiplying:

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Whole From The Part With Percentage

If 40 percent of a number is 44, what is 60 percent of the same number?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To determine what 60 percent of the number is, one must first determine what the number is. To find the number, set up a proportion relating the original percentage and the value of the percentage where the top number is the fractional value and the bottom number is the total.

Use cross multiplication to solve for the number.

  •  

Once the number is found, the new percentage can be found. There are two ways to do this: multiplication or a proportion.

  • Multiplication:
  • Proportion:

 This means that 60 percent of the number is 66.

Example Question #1361 : Numbers And Operations

 is  of what number?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

 is  of a number we will call ; alternatively,  multiplied by  is equal to . Set up this equation and solve for :

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