Instructions for Percentages

Percentages are used in many aspects of culinary math. You can visualize percent problems in this form:

Let’s put this proportion into practice:

What is 20% of 140? You would set up the proportion like this:

100x = 140 20

100x =2800

x = 28

What percent of 250 is 30?

250x = 30 100

250x = 3000

x = 12

90 is 30% of what number?

90 100 = 30x

9000 = 30x

300 = x

With word problems, it is very important to pay close attention to the wording in order to solve them correctly. The easiest way to tell the difference between part and whole is that the number that comes after “of” is the whole.

There are 30 pounds of potatoes in the bin. Three pounds of potatoes are rotten. What percent of the potatoes are rotten?

You can rewrite this problem as: What percent of 30 is 3?

100 3 = 30x

300 = 30x

10 =x

10% of the potatoes are rotten.

Two cases of beans cost $40. The wholesaler is giving you a 5% discount. How much will the discount be?

You can rewrite this problem as: What is 5% of 40?

100x = 40 5

100x = 200

x = 2

You will get a $2 discount.

Unemployment tax is 3% of a worker’s base wages. If the restaurant owner pays $0.45 per hour in unemployment tax for a prep cook, what are the cook’s base wages per hour?

You can rewrite this problem as 0.45 is 3% of what?

0.45 100 = 3x

45 = 3x

15 = x

The cook’s base salary is $15 per hour.

Assignment

Purpose

Outcomes

Instructions

Tips for Success

Percentages Assignment

1) The capacity of the banquet room is 150 people. How many people are seated in the room if it is at 60% capacity?

2) About 52% of a pineapple is usable in food preparation. If Sahra prepared 33.8 ounces of pineapple chunks, how many ounces of whole pineapple did she begin with?

3) If you buy products valued at $342.57, and the wholesaler is giving you an 8% discount, how much will be discounted from this price?

4) Nimo bought a carton of strawberries, and he discovered that 35% of the strawberries were not yet ripe. If 4.2 pounds of strawberries were not ripe, how many pounds of strawberries were in the carton?

5) If the restaurant bill was $72.65, and the guest leaves a tip of $14.53, what was the percentage of the tip?

6) If the restaurant owner pays 2% of the server’s wages for worker’s compensation, how much will the owner pay per hour if the server’s wages are $2.24 an hour?

7) The restaurant has 12 servers scheduled to be on duty. If 3 servers call in sick, what percentage of servers is that?

8) If the rental fee for the kitchen was discounted 20%, and the discount was $48, what was the original rental fee?

9) If there are 54 apples in the crate, and 13 of these apples are bruised, what percentage of apples is bruised?

10) About 88% of fresh green beans is usable in food preparation. If Joe buys 14.5 pounds of green beans, how many pounds of beans will he be able to prepare?

11) The restaurant is at 60% capacity. If there are 36 people in the restaurant, what is its full capacity?

12) If the utilities rate for the month increased by 12%, and the bill last month was $354, how many dollars did the bill increase this month?

13) If there are 30 pounds of potatoes in the bin, and 5 pounds of potatoes are too small to make baked potatoes, what percentage of potatoes is too small?

14) Sarah’s restaurant donated $580 to charity last year. If the restaurant made a profit of $12,421, what percentage of the profit did Sarah donate to charity?

15) Don got a discount of 10% from the wholesaler. If his discount was $14.32, what was his bill before the discount?

16) If the restaurant bill was $124.63, and the diner wants to give a 25% tip, what will the tip be?

17) About 82% of green peppers is usable in food preparation. If Cara prepared 61.2 ounces of julienned green peppers, how many ounces of whole green peppers did she start with?

18) Naima’s restaurant employs 3 salaries employees out of a total of 36 staff. What percentage of the staff is salaried?