Aiden needs to find the percent of shaded squares in the bar diagram. Which model should he use?

Question

A grid model with 20 squares. 16 squares are shaded.

A grid model with 100 squares. 16 squares are shaded.
A grid model with 100 squares. 60 squares are shaded.
A grid model with 100 squares. 80 squares are shaded.
A grid model with 100 squares. 96 squares are shaded.

Answer 1

To find the percent of shaded squares in a bar diagram, Aiden needs to use a model that allows him to express the shaded squares as a percentage of the total squares.

The correct choice is:

A grid model with 100 squares. 16 squares are shaded.

This model is effective because calculating the percentage in this case involves straightforward arithmetic:

• The percentage of shaded squares can be calculated using the formula: \[ \text{Percentage} = \left(\frac{\text{Number of shaded squares}}{\text{Total number of squares}}\right) \times 100 \]
• For this model, it would be \( \left(\frac{16}{100}\right) \times 100 = 16% \).

The other models (60, 80, and 96 shaded squares) will give different percentages, but since 16 shaded squares out of 100 is the specific quantity Aiden needs, this is the most relevant model for his needs.