Maths test - to think Civil Service have it wrong?

[Sharingaroomtinightthen]

I’ve just applied for a Civil Service test. Part of it is passing a numerical test.

This is the question.

The answer is 125%. I’m sure of it.

If you start with £100, and in the first year it doubles it’s £200. So at the of year one it’s £200.

In year two it trebles to £600.

It then falls by a quarter in the third year to £450.

So end of year 1 - £200.

End of year 3 - £450.

It’s increased by 125%.

125% isn’t an answer option.

WIBU to email and tell them they’ve got it wrong?

That’s my point - if they want the answer to be from one of the options - you would need to adjust the wording to make this possible - I.e, tweek the question

No it's still wrong.

On your version the starting number is 100 and the final number is 450. That would be an increase of 350.

Nothing you've said makes sense.

Even if you do that, it still isn't 450% !!!

If you read the question it is 125% increase

I don’t remember much from my exams, but I do remember the universal advice:
Read. The. Question.

I have passed it, with a score of 95% better than other applicants. So don’t worry.

No I did not say that! I said work out the % difference using the base figure only. When I worked it out after rereading the question this is what I came up with and is clearly documented.

350 is difference from the start so 650%
250 is difference from end of year 1 so 450%

This was my answer 450% why are you trying to humiliate me and change what I worked out?

Please did they give you the answer?

It’s not asking for a percentage of "what you had". Yes the end figure is 225% of the starting figure, but that’s not the question. It’s asking for the percentage increase, so you have to subtract your start number from your finish number. Which gives you 250, which is a 125% increase from the start number of 100.

I assume you would agree that if sales had doubled it would have been a 100% increase. In fact sales did a bit better than that, with an increase of one-and-a-quarter times the starting (end Y1) figure. That’s 125%.

Please don't be an engineer who builds bridges 🙏

It's a result of education by multiple choice

I’m retired early no worries about that.

Maths grad from the university of Bedfordshire?

Yes, I had the results before I posted.

I kind of feel the thing here is the difference between % (percent) increase and percentage increase. They are not the same thing. But I can never remember which way round they go. So I'm stuffed basically. I think it is right that 225% is the percentage increase (100 to 300 to 225) but the percent increase is 125%. (The final circulation is 125% larger than it was at end yr 1). Or maybe the other way round. It doesn't help that the first part of the question is utterly irrelevant.

You need to let go of the ‘base figure’ concept. You are answering the wrong question. If it helps, look for a 'starting figure' for the question you are being asked. Hint: the entire first year is irrelevant to the calculation, except for the final total at the end of it.

OP please tell us the answer to the maths question if it is indeed 450% it will at least stop everyone from calling me stupid! I agree with 125% as logical but as it is not an option on the drop down the only maths I can make fit is 450%.

If it is 450% I will at least have a shred of self esteem left.

I'm not trying to humiliate you, but a 350 is not a 650% increase from the start, whether you start from 50, 100 or 200.

350 would be a 650% increase from 46.67.

Sorry, I stand corrected that it asks for the increase, however, the increase is the difference between the two numbers. I.e. 125%.

It is not asking what the % of circulation has increased to, only the increase. AKA, the difference.

No you would not.

Percent and percentage are effectively interchangeable and make no difference. The difference to understand here is between ‘increase’ and ‘total’.

Do you mean:

a) your score was 95%, which was better than most other applicants; or
b) your score was 95% higher than the other applicants (so for example they scored 10% and you scored 19.5%)?

😉

Like in polls, if one time 5% of people said pineapple is an acceptable pizza topping and the next time 10% of people did (they are all wrong) it would be a 100% increase but also an increase of 5 percentage points.

Wouldn't you ADD 10% ? Why would you multiply by 110%

If you had £100, and someone gave you some more money, leaving you with a total of £225, I don't think anyone would struggle to recognize their funds had increased by £125.

People in this thread are persistently making the mistake of confusing the final total with the increase.

Ignore that, I typed incorrect figures and can’t change it now.

End of Y1 - 200.

End of Y2 - 600.

End of Y3 - 450.

Thats an increase of 250 from our starting figure of 200. 125%.

Think of it like this: if sales had doubled, i.e. gone from 200 to 400, that would have been a 100% increase. In fact they did a bit better than that and rise not just by the same amount again, but by one-and-a-quarter times. That’s 125%.