Approach strategically
First, find the total sales of clothing from the bar graph. Since all amounts are in thousands of dollars, ignore the 000s to make adding easier. According to the bar graph, here are the approximate sales for each brand.
Brand A: $700Brand B: $750Brand C: $350Brand D: $400Brand E: $300
So the total sales of all the brands of clothing by
store T were approximately
$700 + $750 + $350 + $400 + $300 = $2,500. To find
the percentage of store T's total sales of brand A clothing in March
and April, it's necessary to use both graphs. The
bar graph indicates that the sales of brand A clothing
in the year 2015 were approximately $700 (again, ignoring the thousands). From the pie chart, the sales
of brand A clothing in March and April were 25% of its total sales in the year 2015. So the sales of brand A clothing
in the months of March and April were approximately 25% of $700, or 0.25($700) = $175.
Calculate this number as a percentage of $2,500:
. (B) is correct.
TAKEAWAY: When calculating a percentage or fraction, if all the values are in the same units, you can ignore the units to make calculations simpler.
Analyze the graphs
Two graphs are presented: a bar graph that shows the sales numbers for five different brands of clothing by a store in the year 2015, and a pie chart that shows the percentages of brand A's total sales for six 2-month periods over the same year.
