🇺🇸 AMC 8 ⇄ switch contest
1995 AJHSME

Problem 1

Problem 1 · 1995 AJHSME Easy
Fractions, Decimals & Percents mental-math

Walter has exactly one penny, one nickel, one dime, and one quarter in his pocket. What percent of one dollar is in his pocket?

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Answer: D — 41%.
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Hint 1 of 2
A dollar IS 100 cents — so cents and 'percent of a dollar' are the very same number.
Still stuck? Show hint 2 →
Hint 2 of 2
That means you don't need a percent calculation at all: just total the coins in cents.
Show solution
Approach: read cents directly as percent (a dollar = 100 cents)
  1. The trick: 'percent' means 'out of 100,' and a dollar is exactly 100 cents. So however many cents you have IS the percent of a dollar — no division needed.
  2. Total the coins: 1 + 5 + 10 + 25 = 41 cents, which is 41% of a dollar.
  3. You'll see it again: any time the whole is 100 (100 cents, 100 students, a 100-point test), counts and percents are the same number.
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