Real-World Math Problems: Ratios, Percentages & Conversions

Ratio and Proportion Word Problems

1. Pablo and Sebastian won a lottery prize. Sebastian received $140,000 less than Pablo. What was the total prize they received? (Note: This problem may be missing information to be solved.)
2. A secretary can complete a job in 40 days by working 9 hours per day. How many hours per day must the secretary work to complete the same job in 30 days?
3. A zoo has enough food to feed 52 animals for 250 days. If the number of animals decreases by 12, for how many days will the food last?
4. A car uses 40 liters of gasoline to travel 510 kilometers. How many liters will it use to travel 204 kilometers?
5. A contractor estimates that 6 workers can finish a job in 15 days. How many workers are needed to finish the same job in 9 days?
6. Two brothers share a legacy from their father valued at $4,000,000. What is the difference between the amounts each brother receives? (Note: This problem may be missing information to be solved.)
7. Fifteen workers made 128 vests in 32 days. How many workers are needed to make the same number of vests in 20 days?
8. At a school, 200 square meters have been painted, but a 60-square-meter patio still needs to be painted. What is the ratio of the total area to be painted to the painted area?
9. An investment of $300,000 yields a semiannual return of $25,000. Under the same conditions, what return will a deposit of $450,000 yield in the same period?
10. If one U.S. dollar (USD) is equivalent to 584 pesos, how many U.S. dollars are equivalent to 8,760 pesos?

Unit Conversion and Measurement Problems

11. If one UTM (Unidad Tributaria Mensual) is valued at $30,236, what is the value in pesos of a 3.5 UTM fine?
12. If one UF (Unidad de Fomento) is valued at $17,452, what is the value in pesos of a property assessed at 2,500 UF?
13. If one Euro is equivalent to 1,345 pesos, how many Euros are equivalent to 16,678 pesos?
14. Francisco owns a lot of 15,000 square meters and buys an adjacent parcel of 1.3 hectares (ha). What is the total area of Francisco's land in hectares?
15. The capacity of an oil reservoir is 270,000 cubic centimeters. What is the capacity of the tank in liters?
16. If one inch (in) is equal to 2.54 centimeters, how many inches are in 116.84 meters?
17. If one foot is equal to 30.48 centimeters, how many feet are in 21.336 meters?
18. How many square tiles with 5 cm sides are needed to cover a square yard with 8-meter sides?

Percentage and Financial Math Problems

19. An item costs $5,800 and is sold with a 15% discount. What is the value of the discount?
20. A person with a salary of $320,000 had $40,000 left after paying for monthly food and bills. What percentage of their salary did they spend?
21. What number, when increased by 24%, equals 48,360?
22. What is the discount rate if a debt of $380,000 is reduced to $323,000?
23. What number, when decreased by 17%, equals 212,480?
24. A trader buys a computer for $350,000. At what price must they sell it to earn a profit of 18% of the purchase price?
25. Carlos bought an item for $600,000 and sold it for $450,000. What was his percentage loss?