Percentages

Percentages are a way of expressing a fraction or a portion as a part of one hundred. The term 'percent' comes from the Latin 'per centum', which means 'by the hundred'.

Definition

A percentage is a number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. It is often denoted using the percent sign, %. For example, 45% is a percentage equivalent to the fraction 45/100.

If you have 45 apples out of 100, you have 45%. If you have 2 apples out of 100, you have 2%.

Conversion

Here's how you convert between decimals, fractions, and percentages:

• To convert a percentage to a decimal, divide by 100. So, 45% becomes 0.45.
• To convert a decimal to a percentage, multiply by 100. So, 0.45 becomes 45%.
• To convert a fraction to a percentage, divide the numerator by the denominator, multiply by 100, and add the % sign. So, 1/2 becomes 50%.

Applications

Percentages are used in many aspects of life, including finance (interest rates, discounts), statistics (data interpretation), and science (growth rates). Understanding percentages is crucial for interpreting data, understanding news stories, financial literacy, and many other areas of everyday life.