37.Galileo Galilei conducted experiments involving
Italy’s famous Leaning Tower of Pisa to investigate
the relationship between an object’s speed of fall and
its weight. The Leaning Tower is 880 ft shorter than
the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The two towers
have a total height of 1246 ft. How tall is each tower?
(Source: http://www.leaned.org, http://www.tour-eiffel.fr.))
38.In 2009, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets had the highest payrolls in Major
League Baseball. The Mets’ payroll was $65.6 million less than the Yankees’ payroll,
and the two payrolls totaled $337.2 million. What was the payroll for each team? (Source:
Associated Press.)
39.In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama and John McCain together received
538 electoral votes. Obama received 192 more votes than McCain. How many votes did
each candidate receive? (Source: World Almanac and Book of Facts.)
40.Ted Williams and Rogers Hornsby were two great hitters in
Major League Baseball. Together, they got 5584 hits in their
careers. Hornsby got 276 more hits than Williams. How many
base hits did each get? (Source:Neft, D. S., and R. M. Cohen,
The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball,St. Martins Griffin; New
York, 2007.)
Solve each percent problem. See Example 5.
41.In 2009, the number of graduating seniors taking the ACT exam was 1,480,469. In 2000,
a total of 1,065,138 graduating seniors took the exam. By what percent did the number in-
crease over this period of time, to the nearest tenth of a percent? (Source:ACT.)
42.Composite scores on the ACT exam rose from 20.8 in 2002 to 21.1 in 2009. What percent
increase was this, to the nearest tenth of a percent? (Source:ACT.)
43.In 1995, the average cost of tuition and fees at public four-year universities in the United
States was $2811 for full-time students. By 2009, it had risen approximately 150%. To the
nearest dollar, what was the approximate cost in 2009? (Source:The College Board.)
44.In 1995, the average cost of tuition and fees at private four-year universities in the United
States was $12,216 for full-time students. By 2009, it had risen approximately 115.1%. To
the nearest dollar, what was the approximate cost in 2009? (Source:The College Board.)
45.In 2009, the average cost of a traditional
Thanksgiving dinner for 10, featuring turkey,
stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie, and trim-
mings, was $42.91, a decrease of 3.8% over the
cost in 2008. What was the cost, to the nearest
cent, in 2008? (Source:American Farm Bureau.)
46.Refer to Exercise 45.The cost of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in 2009 was $42.91,
an increase of 60.4% over the cost in 1987 when data was first collected. What was the
cost, to the nearest cent, in 1987? (Source:American Farm Bureau.)
47.At the end of a day, Lawrence Hawkins found that the total cash register receipts at the
motel where he works amounted to $2725. This included the 9% sales tax charged. Find
the amount of the tax.