Math percentage Question?

Question

I am not allowed to use a calculator for an up coming math exam and I was wondering if there was a simpler way to work out the following equation than 3635/725579 x 100. If there is a more simple way to break down the question and get an approximate value that would also be beneficial as it is multiple choice and there is usually a bit of a difference in the multiple choice answer options.

In 1994 there was $3,635 Canadian dollars seized and $721,944 American dollars seized.

What % of total funds seized in 1994 was Canadian?

In 1994 there was $3,635 Canadian dollars seized and 721,944 American dollars seized.

Thanks.

Eliot K · Accepted Answer

36 is half of 72.  if the amounts were $3,635 and 7,222, then you would say that one is 50% of the other.

If you multiply 7,222 by 100, then the 50% becomes .5%

You can then check this by estimating what .5% of 721,944 is:
you say, "10% is 72,194.  So, 1% is 7,219, and half of that is 3,609, so .5% is correct."

? · Answer

In 1994 there was $3,635 Canadian dollars seized 
and $721,944 American dollars seized.
What % of total funds seized in 1994 was Canadian?
If the two dollar values are the same,
the total amount is 725579 dollars and
3,635/725,579 x 100 or 0.50098% 
of the total funds seized was Canadian.

Anonymous · Answer

If the answers are wildly different, then you can just estimate.

3635/725579 for this particular case, I would divide numerator and denominator by 100 and truncate the decimal. that gives us
36 / 7255. next round 7255 to 7200.
now you have 36 / 7200, and of course you recognize that 36 is half of 72, so we get
1 / 200. then when you multiply this by 100% you get 1/2 % or 0.5%.
Compare this to the actual answer using the original numbers and you'll see it's an excellent estimate.

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Math percentage Question?

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