This year, Clean Machine used 6,972.7 gallons of soap. That is 20% less than last year. How

many gallons of soap did the company use last year?
Round your answer to the nearest tenth.
gallons

1 answer

To find out how many gallons of soap Clean Machine used last year, we can use the formula for finding the original amount given the percentage change:

Original amount = (100% + percentage change) / 100% * new amount

In this case, the percentage change is -20% (20% less). So the formula becomes:

Original amount = (100% - 20%) / 100% * 6,972.7 gallons

Calculating this expression:

Original amount = 80% / 100% * 6,972.7 gallons
= 0.8 * 6,972.7 gallons
= 5,578.16 gallons

So, the company used approximately 5,578.2 gallons of soap last year.