Percentage increases are easier to make sense of with positive numbers.
Just as you can calculate the percentage increase between two positive numbers, you can do the same for negative numbers. However, for real life applications, the result may be meaningless or misleading. For example, to say that a company with a $15,000 loss one month underwent a 20% increase to a $18,000 loss the next month is deceptive, as the word "increase" has positive associations and implies that things got better, when in reality they got worse.
Instructions
1. Identify which number from your problem is a and which one is b in the formula (b-a)/a * 100. The first number, or pre-increase number, is a, and the second number, post-increase, is b.
Example:
What is the percentage increase from -20 to -25?
-20 = a
-25 = b
2. Plug in the numbers from the problem into the equation.
Example:
(b-a)/a * 100
(25-20)/20 * 100
3. Carry out the calculations.
Example:
(25-20)/20 * 100
= 5/20 * 100
= 0.25 * 100
= 25
There is a 25% increase from -20 to -25.
Tags: Example 25-20, increase from, positive numbers
