How Do You Use an Equation to Find a Whole?

12 is 40% of something, so 12 is part of a whole.
Our percent is easy to find. It's the number with the percent symbol (%) after it!
We don't know the whole that 12 is a part of. The whole, b, is what we're trying to find!
To convert a percent to a decimal, divide it by 100.
To solve for b, divide each side of the equation by 0.40.
This moves 0.40 to the other side of the equal sign and gets b by itself.

1. 12 is our part, so that will be 'a'
2. 40% is our percent, so that will be 'p'
3. We are trying to find the whole. so we don't know what 'b' is
1. When we write a percent equation, the percent needs to be represented as a decimal
2. So we need to convert 40% to a decimal
1. Divide the value of the percent by 100.
2. This moves the decimal point 2 places to the left.
1. Substitute 12 for 'a' and 0.40 for 'p' into the percent equation
1. Solve for b by isolating b on one side of the equation.

Use the percent equation to solve the following problem: 12 is 40% of what number?