Coastal Cable had 1,440,000 customers within January of 2002. During the first half of 2002 the company launched a large advertising campaign. Through the end of 2002 they had 1,800,000 customers. What is the percent of increase?
Coastal Cable gained a total of 360,000 customers (1,800,000 - 1,440,000 = 360,000). To ?nd out what percent of the original number of customers 360,000 represents, divide 360,000 by 1,440,000; 360,000 ÷ 1,440,000 = 0.25; 0.25 is equivalent to 25%. If you chose c, you found the percent of increase in relation to the new number of customers (1,800,000) rather than the original number of customers (1,440,000).