Question

Finley's pumpkin had a mass of 6.5, point, 5 kilograms (\text{kg})(kg)left parenthesis, start text, k, g, end text, right parenthesis before he carved it. After carving it, the pumpkin had a mass of 3.9\,\text{kg}3.9kg3, point, 9, start text, k, g, end text.
What was the percent decrease in the mass of the pumpkin?

Answer 1

Answer

The pumpkin's mass decreased by 40 percent.

Step-by-step explanation:

Step: 1

What is the percentage of the pumpkin's mass that remains after carving?

To find this, you divide the amount of mass after carving by the mass before carving and then multiply the quotient by 100.

3.9 kg / 6.5 kg = 0.6

0.6 x 100 = 60.0 %

Step 2:

What was the percent decrease in the mass of the pumpkin?

To find this, you subtract the percent of the pumpkin's original mass remaining after carving from 100 percent.

100 % - 60 % = 40 %