SOLUTION: I am totally lost with this question on my homework. A New York Times editorial criticized a chart caption that described a dental rinse as one that reduces plaque on teeth by o

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Question 1086437: I am totally lost with this question on my homework.
A New York Times editorial criticized a chart caption that described a dental rinse as one that reduces plaque on teeth by over 300%. What is wrong with this statement?

Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The most you can reduce a certain amount is by 100%

It is impossible to reduce over 100%

Why? Because 100% is the entire amount. Let's say you had 8 cookies. Taking 100% of that is 1*8 = 8. So reducing by 100% means we go from 8 cookies to 8-8 = 0 cookies. We can't take more than 100% because that would take more cookies than are initially available.