Finding percentages is a simple mathematical operation. When you need to find the ratio or of one quantity as a part of another or an unknown quantity in portion, you may need to express it as a percentage. This post will explain what percentages are, how to calculate them, and provide examples of how they are used in everyday routines.

Percentage – Definitions

Percentages are either numbers or ratios expressed as fractions of 100. They are commonly denoted as “percent” or “percentage.” They can also be expressed as simple fractions or decimal fractions.

A percentage can be expressed as 32 percent which means 32 out of 100 or 32/100. The sign used to represent percentage is %. We can write the percentage as 32%. You will get a better idea of ratios or percentages by using a ratio calculator. This tool lets you calculate a missing value in a proportion along with comparing fractions.

Calculating Percentage – Steps

There are several online tools for finding percentages, such as an online percentage calculator. However, you can calculate percentages manually by following these steps:

• Determine the initial format of the number that will be converted to a percentage. 

The number to be converted to a percentage can be either decimal or fractional. A good example of a decimal number is 0.23, which could be the calculated ratio of the values you’re comparing, whereas a fraction is 4/10. The next mathematical process to be performed on the number will be determined by the initial format.

• Perform a mathematical calculation on the number to be converted to a percentage.

If the number to be converted to a percentage is a decimal number, such as 0.23, you may not need to do anything before proceeding. If it is a fraction, such as 4/10, divide the numerator (4 in this case) by the denominator (10 in this case) to get a decimal number.

• Multiply the mathematical process result by 100.

If you need to convert a decimal number, such as 0.23, to a percentage, simply multiply it by 100. In other words, 0.23 x 100 = 23. As a result, 0.23 as a percentage equals 23 percent or 23 percent. 0.06 x 100 = 6 percent or 6 percent is another example of converting a decimal to a percentage.

If you need to convert 4/10 to a percentage, divide 4 by 10 = 0.4. Then multiply 0.4 by 100 to get 40%.

For another example, if you want to convert 2/13 to a percentage, divide 2 by 13 = 0.15. Then multiply 0.15 by 100. As a result, 0.15 x 100 equals 15%.

Another way to find Percentage

You may be asked to calculate percentages by applying reverse operation on numbers. This is also known as reverse percentages, and it is used when the percentage and final number are given, but the original number must be calculated.

For example, what is the number if 30 percent of it is 600? Working in reverse, the percentage can be calculated as follows:

• Calculate the percentage of the original number.
• Multiply the final amount by 100.
• Divide the multiplication result by the percentage.

1. Determine the percentage of the original number.

The percentage of the original number is 30%, as stated in the math problem.

2. Take the final number and multiply it by 100.

You must multiply the final number from the math problem by 100. This means that 600 times 100 equals 60,000.

3. Divide the multiplication result by the percentage

The final step is to divide the result of step two’s multiplication by the percentage number provided in the question. This means that 60000 divided by 30 equals 2000. As a result, the original number was 2000.

Numerical Problems of Percentage

Here are some percentage examples and how to calculate them using the method we discussed above.

• Determine the sale price of a handbag if a 10% discount off the marked price of $20 is available.
• Make a percentage out of the fraction 30/100.
• Calculate the percentage of the decimal number 4.75.
• Convert 0.5324 as a decimal to a percentage.
• A ticket to the cricket match cost $10 three years ago. The price has been increased by 40% this year. How much does a ticket cost this year for a cricket match?
• The price of a mobile phone has been reduced by 20% to $140. What was the initial cost?
• Calculate the percentage of the fraction 2/3.

1. Determine the sale price of a handbag if a 10% discount is available off the marked price of $20.

• Convert the percentage to a decimal = 10/100 = 0.10
• Multiply by the original price to get the discount amount = 0.10 x $20 = $2.
• The sale price is equal to the full price minus the discount, which is $20.00 – $2.00 = $18.
• As a result, the selling price of that handbag is $18 after the discount.

2. Make a percentage out of the fraction 30/100.

• To convert 30/100 to a percentage, first convert it to a decimal by dividing the numerator which is 30 by the denominator which is 100 in this case.
• It means that 30/100 equals 0.3. Then multiply 0.3 by 100 to get 30%.

3. To convert a decimal number into a percentage, follow the below guidelines.

• • is a decimal number that can be converted to a percentage by multiplying it by 100. As a result, 4.75 x 100 = 475 percent.

4. Convert 0.5324 from a decimal to a percentage.

• To get a percentage out of the decimal number 0.5324, multiply it by 100. As a result, 0.5324 x 100 = 53.24 percent.

5. A cricket match ticket cost $10.00 three years ago. The price has been up by 40% this year. Let’s find out how much does it cost in the current year?

• Divide the percentage increase of 40% by 100 to get the decimal form. To find percent increase, use the percent increase calculator.
• Now multiply it by the original price = 40% of $10 = $4.
• As a result, the ticket price this year equals the initial price plus the increase in ticket cost = $10 + $4 = $14.

6. A mobile phone’s price has been reduced by 20% to $140. What was the initial cost?

• Subtract 20% from 100 to find the original price.

100 – 20% = 80

Multiply the final cost by 100.

• Multiplying 140 with 100. 

140 x 100 = 14000

• Divide the result by the percentage determined in the previous step.

14000/80 = 175.

• As a result, the original price of that mobile phone is $175.

7. 2/3 is a fraction, so let’s convert it to a percentage.

• To convert the fraction 2/3 to a percentage, first convert it to a decimal by dividing the numerator which is 2 by the denominator which is 3.

2/3 = 0.667

• Multiply 0.667 with 100 to get the fraction in percentage.

  0.667 x 100 = 66.7%.

Wrapping up

Coping with percentages could turn out a bit complicated if you do not practice the example problems from your workbooks etc. There could be multiple scenarios of finding percentages as we have gone through a few of them in the above examples. Keep practicing until you are confident that you can find a percentage in any scenario.

Special thanks to guest blogger, Ms. Britni Oscar!