How to Get a Percentage in Standard American English
A percentage is a fraction or ratio expressed as a hundredth. It is often used to represent a part of a whole, such as the percentage of students who passed a test or the percentage of voters who support a particular candidate.
To get a percentage, you divide the part by the whole and then multiply by 100. For example, if 80 students out of 100 pass a test, the percentage of students who passed is 80/100 * 100 = 80%.
Steps to Get a Percentage
- Identify the part and the whole. The part is the number or amount that you are interested in, and the whole is the total number or amount.
- Divide the part by the whole. This will give you a decimal number.
- Multiply the decimal number by 100. This will convert the decimal number to a percentage.
Example
Let’s say you want to find the percentage of people who voted for a particular candidate in an election. You know that the candidate received 500 votes out of a total of 1000 votes cast.
To find the percentage, you would divide 500 by 1000 and then multiply by 100:
500 / 1000 * 100 = 50%Therefore, the candidate received 50% of the votes cast.
FAQ
Q: What is the difference between a percentage and a fraction?
A: A percentage is a fraction expressed as a hundredth, while a fraction is a number that represents a part of a whole. Percentages are often used to represent parts of a whole that are less than one, while fractions can be used to represent parts of a whole that are greater than or equal to one.
Q: How do I convert a percentage to a decimal?
A: To convert a percentage to a decimal, you divide the percentage by 100. For example, to convert 50% to a decimal, you would divide 50 by 100, which would give you 0.5.
Q: How do I convert a decimal to a percentage?
A: To convert a decimal to a percentage, you multiply the decimal by 100. For example, to convert 0.5 to a percentage, you would multiply 0.5 by 100, which would give you 50%.
Q: What are some common uses of percentages?
A: Percentages are used in a variety of applications, including:
- Finance: Percentages are used to calculate interest rates, loan payments, and other financial calculations.
- Statistics: Percentages are used to represent the proportion of data that falls into different categories.
- Science: Percentages are used to represent the concentration of solutions and the purity of substances.
- Everyday life: Percentages are used to represent the amount of discount on a sale, the likelihood of an event occurring, and other everyday calculations.
