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Understanding Percentages and Conversions

May 22, 2025

Introduction to Percentage

Overview

  • The tutorial provides an introduction to percentages, which are essentially fractions with a denominator of 100.
  • The percent symbol (%) is used to denote percentages.
  • Example: Scoring 75 on a test out of 100 questions is equivalent to 75%.

What is a Percent?

  • Percent is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100.

Converting Percentages

Example 1: Convert 55% to a Fraction

  • Step 1: Represent 55% as a fraction with a denominator of 100 (55/100).
  • Step 2: Reduce the fraction to its lowest terms by dividing both numerator and denominator by 5.
  • Result: The simplified fraction is 11/20.

Example 2: Convert 55% to a Decimal

  • Step 1: Represent 55% as a fraction with a denominator of 100 (55/100).
  • Step 2: Convert the fraction to a decimal by dividing the numerator by the denominator, which is the same as moving the decimal point two places to the left.
  • Result: The decimal is 0.55.

Example 3: Convert 0.25 to a Percent

  • Step 1: Multiply the decimal by 100% (0.25 x 100%).
  • Step 2: Simplification involves moving the decimal point two places to the right.
  • Result: The percentage is 25%.

Example 4: Convert 42/60 to a Percent

  • Step 1: Convert the fraction to a decimal by dividing the numerator by the denominator (42/60).
  • Step 2: Simplify the decimal to 0.7.
  • Step 3: Multiply the decimal by 100% (0.7 x 100%).
  • Result: The percentage is 70%.

Resources

  • Summary and Worksheet:
    • A summary PDF is available to review this topic, which includes examples.
    • A worksheet PDF contains practice questions and answers to test understanding.

Navigation

  • Previous Topic: Decimals and Rounding
  • Next Topic: Simple Operations with Percent

Additional Information

  • This tutorial is part of "Prealgebra" by Lynn Marecek & Mary Anne Anthony-Smith, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  • Always refer to your professor's instructions if they differ from the material provided.

Contact Information

  • Users can connect with library staff for support or feedback via chat or contact links provided for various colleges.