GCSE Maths – Ratio, Proportion and

Rates of Change

Percentage Change
Worksheet

NOTES SOLUTIONS

This worksheet will show you how to work out different types of percentage change
questions. Each section contains a worked example, a question with hints and then
questions for you to work through on your own.

This work by PMT Education is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Worked Example

Increase 75 by 24%.

Step 1: Interpret an increase of 24% as a decimal multiplier.

An increase of 24% is 124% of the original value. So, the decimal multiplier is:

124 ÷ 100 = 1.24

Step 2: Multiply the decimal multiplier by the original value.

1.24 × 75 = 𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗

Guided Example

Decrease the number 140 by 46%.

Step 1: Interpret a decrease of 46% as a decimal multiplier.

Step 2: Multiply the starting value by the decimal multiplier.

1. Increase 56 by 13%.

2. Decrease £136 by 30%.

3. A water bottle is normally sold for £12. In a sale, shop A decreases the price by 40% whilst
shop B knocks £2 off every item. Which shop should I go to for the water bottle, and why?

4. A house increases in value by 17%. A month later, it decreased in value by 8%. What is the
overall percentage change in price of the house?
 Section B

Worked Example
h of cakes costs £2.56. Katy makes 4 batches and sells each batch for £5. Work out how much profit Katy makes as

Step 1: Calculate how much Katy spent on ingredients.

Multiply the cost per batch by the number of batches she bought ingredients for.

4 × £2.56 = £10.24

Step 2: Calculate how much money she made from selling the cakes and find the difference between this and the money spent.

4 × £5 = £20
£20 − £10.24 = £9.76

Step 3: Substitute the difference and money spent into the formula for percentage change and solve.

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒
× 100
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 = 𝑂𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑔𝑟𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙

£9.76
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 = £10.24 × 100

𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 = 𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗% (to the nearest percent)

Alternatively, you could solve this problem by basing the calculation off the prices of one
batch only. Since the answer is a percentage, and not the actual profit, the percentage change will be the sam

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 = 𝑂𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑔𝑟𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙
× 100

£5 − £2.56 £2.44
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 = £2.56 × 100 = £2.56 × 100

= 𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗% (to the nearest percent)

An art gallery contains 45 paintings. After an exhibition, paintings are bought and sold,
and it now contains 38 items. Calculate the percentage change in the number of
paintings in the gallery, giving your answer to the nearest percent.

Step 1: Find the difference between the number of paintings in the gallery after and before the
exhibition.

Step 2: Substitute the change in number of paintings, and the original number of paintings, into the formula
for percentage change.

Step 3: Solve the equation, and round the percentage change to the nearest whole number.
 Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.

5. The population of koalas in a forest one year ago was 48. In the same forest, one year ago
there were 114 snakes. Now there are 40 koalas and 150 snakes. Which species has
experienced the greatest percentage change in population?

6. Angela buys a house for £160000 and renovates it. After three years, the house is worth
£213500. What is the percentage increase in price?

7. A museum received 140 within the first week of opening. In the second week, 480 people
visited the museum. What is the percentage change in the number of visitors over the two
weeks?
 Section C

Worked Example
e is depleting. Over the last year, it has experienced a 15% decrease and now has 340 residents. How many people

he equation for percentage decrease to form an equation.

ar ago be 𝑥.

𝑂𝑙𝑑 − 𝑁𝑒𝑤
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 = 𝑂𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑔𝑟𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 × 100
𝑥 − 340
15 = 𝑥 × 100

Step 2: Solve the equation, by collecting the 𝑥 terms on one side.

𝑥 − 340
0.15 =
𝑥
0.15𝑥 = 𝑥 − 340
0.85𝑥 = 340
𝑥 = 400

The population of the town one year ago was 400.

Guided Example

A farmer is monitoring his population of chickens and calculates that every year,
the number of chickens increases by approximately 30%. At the start of 2008, he
forgot to count the number of chickens but in 2009 he found that there were 156.
Estimate the number of chickens at the start of 2008.
Step 1: Substitute the values we have for the percentage increase and the number of chickens into the
formula for percentage increase.

Step 2: Solve the equation by collecting the coefficients of 𝑥 onto one side.
 Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.

8. A pair of headphones are in a sale where everything is 40% off. The sale price of the
headphones is £54. What was the original full price of the headphones?

9. A carrot patch starts with 200 carrots. A farmer discovers that every week, pests
consume 5% of his produce. How many carrots does the farmer have after two weeks,
and what is the percentage change compared to the original amount?

10. Pamela buys an old car for £1000. After fixing the engine and exhaust, the car increases in
value by 110%. Once she has painted the exterior and fitted new seats, it appreciates in
value by a further 60%. How much can she sell the car for now?

11. A brand of orange juice develops a special edition