Subject: percentage points vs. percent??
From: Colleen Ryan (cryan77@yahoo.com)
Date: Sat Jul 29 2000 - 22:20:10 EDT
I would love some help with the difference between percentage points and
percent. I can find no distinction listed in a text or dictionary.
However, I believe I have heard the following distinction:
If the percent of a certain group of people who have a heart attack in one
year is 4% and with a certain medicine this is lowered to 2%:
Is this a 2 percentage point reduction and a 50% reduction?
Am I using it correctly or not? Can someone let me know what they think?
Maybe they are teaching this distinction now (in school) and I am so old
that this was not taught when I went to school. If anyone learned the
distinction in grade school, junior high, or high school, let me know when
it came up.
Thanks!
Colleen Ryan
Oxnard College
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites.
http://invites.yahoo.com/
****************************************************************************
* To post to the list: email mathedcc@archives.math.utk.edu *
* To unsubscribe, send mail to: mathedcc-unsubscribe@archives.math.utk.edu *
* Archives at http://archives.math.utk.edu/hypermail/mathedcc/ *
****************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b28 : Sat Jul 29 2000 - 22:13:59 EDT