On a manufacturer's assembly line, 3% of its merchandise comes off defective. If the company has 354 defective items, how many total items came off the assembly line?

Question

whpalmer4 · Answer

3% of x = 354

$$3\%*\frac{1}{100\%} * x = 354$$$$\frac{3x}{100}=354$$Can you solve that for $x$?

anonymous · Answer

divide by 100 on both sides ext...?

whpalmer4 · Answer

no, I would multiply both sides by 100

anonymous · Answer

oh.. then divide

whpalmer4 · Answer

$$\frac{3x}{100}*100 = 354*100$$$$\frac{3x}{\cancel{100}}*\cancel{100} = 35400$$

anonymous · Answer

3*354/100=10.62?

whpalmer4 · Answer

no...$$3x = 35400$$divide both sides by 3

whpalmer4 · Answer

Think about it this way:  3% means 3 out of each 100.  if you have 100 items, 3% is just 3.  You need more than 100 times as many (you want 354), so x must be more than 100 * 100, right?  3% of 10.62 is less than 1, and the problem says there are 354 :-)