An article reports "attendance dropped 2% this year, to 5053." What was the attendance before the drop? (Round your answer to the nearest whole number.)

5156

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x represent the initial attendance;

Since the initial attendance dropped by 2%

New attendance = x - 2% of x = x - 0.02x

New attendance = 0.98x

Given;

New attendance = 5053

Equating the values and solving for x;

0.98x = 5053

x = 5053/0.98

x = 5156.12

x = 5156

Initial attendance before the drop = 5156