SOLUTION: If a college term started with 20,000 students, but only ended with 17,500. What was the percentage decrease? One student got a 12.5% and another got 17.3% as a decrease, yet anoth

Question 954023: If a college term started with 20,000 students, but only ended with 17,500. What was the percentage decrease? One student got a 12.5% and another got 17.3% as a decrease, yet another got a 87.5%.
explain why 87.5% doesn't make sense in the problem..
explain or show how that the student got 12.5%
(this problem is worded terribly, and really need help)
Answer by macston(5194) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
20000-17500=2500 Loss of 2500 students Divide number lost/number total=% lost:
2500/20000(100%)=12.5%
The answer could not be 87%, more than 50% would be more than 1/2, or at least 10000.
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