Percentage of an amount
A percentage means 'out of 100'. To find a percentage of an amount, break it into easy chunks like 10% and 1%.
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Analogy
Like splitting a bill: find one tenth first, then build up from there.
Example
10% of 80 = 85% of 80 = 415% of 80 = 8 + 4 = 12
In practice
Shops use it for sales: 20% off a 50 pound coat takes 10 pounds off.
Practice
Flashcards
- What is 15% of 80?12. It is 10% (8) plus 5% (4).
Questions people ask
How do you find 10% of a number quickly?
Divide the number by 10. Ten percent is one tenth. So 10% of 80 is 8, and 10% of 250 is 25. You can then double it for 20%, halve it for 5%, or add chunks together to build other percentages.
How do you turn a percentage into a decimal?
Divide by 100, which moves the decimal point two places left. So 35% becomes 0.35 and 7% becomes 0.07. To find 35% of 60, multiply 0.35 x 60 = 21. This is the method a calculator needs. Many calculators have a percent key too, but the divide-by-100 method always works.