Percent change · grades 7–8
Percent Increase and Decrease Worksheet Generator
Create fresh start-to-end percent-change problems with exact rates. Increase and decrease examples are constructed from a known rate, avoiding answer keys that depend on hidden rounding conventions.
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Percent Increase & Decrease
Percent change · Multiples of 5% · Seed 261301
340 -> 34: % decrease = ____
620 -> 589: % decrease = ____
580 -> 58: % decrease = ____
600 -> 1020: % increase = ____
530 -> 159: % decrease = ____
462 -> 693: % increase = ____
40 -> 78: % increase = ____
540 -> 783: % increase = ____
480 -> 528: % increase = ____
96 -> 24: % decrease = ____
360 -> 378: % increase = ____
240 -> 348: % increase = ____
580 -> 1131: % increase = ____
520 -> 702: % increase = ____
410 -> 287: % decrease = ____
420 -> 777: % increase = ____
580 -> 522: % decrease = ____
275 -> 330: % increase = ____
Finding a percent increase or decrease
Percent change compares the amount of change with the starting value. Subtract to find the change, divide by the original amount, and write the result as a percent. Say whether the change is an increase or a decrease. The original value is always the base, so the same change can be a different percent depending on where you start.
Worked examples
- Increase: a price goes from 40 to 50. The change is 10, and 10 ÷ 40 = 0.25, so it is a 25% increase.
- Decrease: a number goes from 80 to 60. The change is 20, and 20 ÷ 80 = 0.25, so it is a 25% decrease.
- Not symmetric: 100 increased by 50% is 150. Decreasing 150 by 50% gives 75, not 100, because the second percent is taken from a larger base.
Common slips
- Dividing by the new value. For 40 to 50, 10 ÷ 50 = 20% is wrong; divide by the original 40.
- Mixing up increase and decrease. If the new value is smaller, the change is a decrease.
- Forgetting to convert the decimal to a percent: 0.25 is 25%, not 0.25%.
How to use this worksheet
Ask students to write the change, the original value, and the word increase or decrease before giving the percent. The answer key shows the percent for each problem.
Common Core connection
- 7.RP.A.3 · Solve multistep ratio and percent problems, including tax, tips, discounts, and interest.
A practical match for the skill this worksheet practises, not a claim that one worksheet teaches or assesses the whole standard. Check the official math standards.
Keep the original value as the reference whole. Percent change is measured against where the quantity started, not where it ended.
Use a mix of increase and decrease only after students can state the direction from the two values without calculation.
Extended mode may include increases above 100%; decreases stay below 100% so the generated end value remains nonnegative and meaningful.
Work one aloud: a price moves from 50 to 65, so the change is 15 and the percent change is 15 divided by 50, which is a 30% increase. Divide by 50, not 65.
A 50% increase followed by a 50% decrease does not return to the start: 100 becomes 150, then 75. Seed a few of these to break that assumption.
More percentage practice
Switch the missing quantity
Quick answers
Are both increases and decreases included?
Yes. When the selected rate set allows it, sheets mix exact increases and decreases.
Which standard does this practice?
CCSS 7.RP.A.3: solve multistep percent problems, with percent increase and decrease named explicitly in the standard.
What is the most common percent-change error?
Dividing the change by the ending value instead of the original value. Percent change is always measured against where the quantity started.
Can an increase be above 100%?
Yes in Extended or a custom range. Decrease problems remain below 100%.
Are the start and end values exact?
Yes. The change amount is constructed as an exact percentage of the starting value.
Can I generate another version at the same difficulty?
Yes. New problems changes only the seed while preserving the other settings.