I have the following scenarios, but I am unclear on how to handle them correctly. I start off with a value like 200 and the following scenarios are:
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Remove 10% from 200, and then remove a compound 20% from that value.
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Remove 10% from 200, and then remove 20% from 200. I guess this is just like removing 30%, correct?
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Add 10% to 200, and then remove a compound 20% from that value.
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Add 10% to 200, and then remove 20% from 200.
I am also unclear on on a certain on something else because I have been given 2 different answers. If I take 100 and want to remove 10%, is it:
100 * 0.9 = 90
or
100 / 1.1 = 90.9090….
What is the difference above?
Lastly, is there a formula than can be converted into an algorithm that will handle more than removing/adding between 1 and 2 percentages (≥3)? If so, what is it?
Initial Value = 252
Remove 10% and then a 20% Compound
Based on your answer, I am doing:
252 - (252 * (10/100)) = 226.8
226.8 - (226.8 * (20/100)) = 181.44
However, they are doing:
252 * 0.9 = 226.8
226.8 / 1.2 = 189
Best Answer
First, I will answer your second question. To reduce a number by 10%, you always multiply by 0.9. I don't know the context in which you think you were told that you sometimes divide by 1.1, but I am sure there is something here you have misunderstood. (I have a guess; since you asked about it, I have added it below.)
1: To remove 10% from 200, and then remove a compound 20% from that value:
The answer is 144.
2: Your idea here is correct.
3: To add 10% to 200, and then remove a compound 20% from that value:
4: You can use your idea from #2 here.
To handle multiple increases or reductions, just do them one step at a time.
I hope this is some help.
Suppose you see a price $p$ and you know that this price was marked up by 10% sometime in the past. You want to know what the original price was before the markup. This is $p ÷ 1.1$.
Notice that this is not the same as if you reduce $p$ by 10%! That would be $p × 0.9$, which is different.
I guess that the reason you thought you might reduce a number by 10% by dividing by 1.1 is that you were confused about this case. It seems as though reducing a number by 10% should be the same as undoing an increase of 10%, but it isn't.
For example, if you see a price of \$110 and you know it was marked up by 10%, then the original price was \$110 ÷ 1.1 = \$100. But to reduce \$110 by 10% you calculate 110 × 0.9 = \$99. Undoing a markup of 10% is not the same as reducing by 10%.