Let's just start wth number 7, yours isn't right. So 20 is 4% of a number (call it x). So the equation for a problem like this is: (The number) = (the percent%) x (x, the unknown) So 20 = 4%of x 20=.04x Isolate the x by dividing both sides by the decimal version of the percent (above, 0.04) 20/0.04 = 0.04x / 0.04 20/0.04 = x X = 500