Percentages
A percent is a fraction out of 100.
Key idea
A percent is a fraction out of 100.
In depth
Percent means per hundred. 35% is 35/100 = 0.35. It lets you compare parts of different wholes on the same scale.
Worked example
Convert 0.6 to a percent: 0.6 × 100 = 60%. Convert 8% to a decimal: 8 ÷ 100 = 0.08.
Formula
Real-world uses
- Reading sale signs, exam scores, interest rates and survey results
- Comparing percentages in news reports
Common mistake
Forgetting that a percent depends on its whole. 10% of 50 differs from 10% of 500.
How to learn this
- Read the key idea and say it in your own words.
- Work through the worked example, then try a similar problem.
- Use the interactive lesson’s visual and mini-quiz to check the pattern.
Frequently asked questions
What is Percentages?
A percent is a fraction out of 100. It is a topic at the intermediate level in Arithmetic & Number Sense.
What is the formula for Percentages?
The key formula is p% = p/100.
Where is Percentages used in real life?
Real-world examples: Reading sale signs, exam scores, interest rates and survey results; Comparing percentages in news reports.
What should I learn before Percentages?
Make sure you are comfortable with Repeating Decimals, the previous topic in Arithmetic & Number Sense.
What is a common mistake with Percentages?
Forgetting that a percent depends on its whole. 10% of 50 differs from 10% of 500.
How can I practise Percentages?
Open the interactive lesson, play with the visual, then answer the three-question mini-quiz. Getting two right marks the topic complete.
What comes after Percentages?
Move on to Percentage of a Quantity next.
Related intermediate topics in Arithmetic & Number Sense
- Long Multiplication – Multiply by each digit of the multiplier, shift by place value, then add partial products.
- Long Division – Divide, multiply, subtract and bring down repeatedly to get the quotient.
- Factors and Multiples – Factors divide a number exactly; multiples are its products with whole numbers.
- Divisibility Rules – Quick tests: by 2 last digit even, by 3 digit-sum divisible by 3, by 5 ends 0/5, by 9 digit-sum divisible by 9.
- Prime Numbers – A prime has exactly two positive divisors: 1 and itself.
- Composite Numbers – Numbers greater than 1 with more than two factors.