Last season, a farmer harvested $500\mathrm{kg}$ of rice. Due to improved techniques, the harvest is estimated to increase by $20\%$ this season. How much rice is the farmer looking to harvest this season?

• A. $400\mathrm{kg}$
• B. $500\mathrm{kg}$
• C. $600\mathrm{kg}$
• D. $520\mathrm{kg}$

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the original amount of rice harvested last season, which is given as \$500\operatorname{kg}$.
2. Recognize that the harvest is expected to increase by 20%, which means the increase is 20% of the original amount.
3. Convert the percentage increase to a decimal by dividing 20 by 100, so \$20\% = 0.20$.
4. Calculate the amount of increase by multiplying the original harvest by the decimal increase: \$500 \times 0.20$.
5. Add the increase to the original harvest to find the estimated harvest this season: \$500 + (500 \times 0.20)$.