A price falls from 80 to 60, what percent drop?

Question

A drop's percentage uses the higher starting price as its base. Solve in your head. What is the percentage decrease from 80 to 60? Aim: under 8 seconds.

Accepted Answer

Divide the fall by the original value: \frac{80 - 60}{80} = \frac{20}{80} = \frac{1}{4} = 25\%. So the decrease is \mathbf{25\%}. Base is 80, the starting price. Reverse direction for contrast: from 60 back up to 80 is 20/60 = 33.3\%, a bigger percentage because the base is smaller. Takeaway. Divide the change by the value you started from. A fall and the recovering rise are never the same percentage, the smaller base always yields the larger percent.

A price falls from 80 to 60, what percent drop?

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