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Problem-Solving and Data Analysis / Percentages Difficulty: Easy

Year	US minimum wage (dollars per hour)
1960	1.00
1970	1.60
1980	3.10
1990	3.80
2000	5.15
2010	7.25

A table of the US minimum wage for 6 different years is shown below.

What was the percent increase of the minimum wage from 1960 to 1970?

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Explanation

Choice B is correct. According to the table, the minimum wage in 1960 was $1.00 per hour, and in 1970 it was $1.60 per hour. The percentage change is therefore $100 times open parenthesis, the fraction with numerator 1 point 6 0 minus 1 point 0 0, and denominator 1 point 0 0, close parenthesis, equals 60 percent$ .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from averaging the two wages before calculating the percentage change. Choice C is incorrect. This is the 1960 wage expressed as a percentage of the 1970 wage, not the percentage change between the two. Choice D is incorrect and may result from a calculation error.