High School

The pass rate on a test is 88%. If 396 students pass, how many students sat for the test?

Answer :

To solve this problem, we will work backwards from the given pass rate and the number of students who passed.

1. Understand the Problem:
- We know that 396 students passed the test.
- The pass rate is 88%. This means that 88% of the students who sat the test passed.

2. Convert the Pass Rate to a Decimal:
- The pass rate of 88% can be expressed as 0.88 in decimal form.

3. Set Up the Equation:
- Let [tex]\( x \)[/tex] be the total number of students who took the test.
- According to the problem, 88% of these students passed the test:
[tex]\[
0.88 \times x = 396
\][/tex]

4. Solve for [tex]\( x \)[/tex]:
- To find [tex]\( x \)[/tex], divide the number of students who passed by the decimal form of the pass rate:
[tex]\[
x = \frac{396}{0.88}
\][/tex]
- When you divide 396 by 0.88, you get 450.

5. Conclusion:
- Therefore, 450 students sat the test.

By following these steps, we've determined that a total of 450 students took the test.