One number can be expressed as a percentage of another number. For example, 3 out of 5 can be written as 60%. Expressing one number as a percentage of another is easy. Divide one number by the other number, then multiply by 100%. What is 45 out of 60 as a percentage? Show
Divide 45 by 60. 45 ÷ 60 = 0.75
Multiply the answer (0.75) by 100%. 0.75 × 100% = 75% Don't forget: a percentage has a % ("percent") sign after it. 45 out of 60 expressed as a percentage is 75%. Expressing one number as a percentage of another involves writing one number as a fraction of the other and multiplying by 100%. For example, to express 3 out of 5 as a percentage, we would write 3 out of 5 as a fraction and multiply by 100%:More generally, to express a number n1 out of of a number n2 as a percentage, use the formula below:
What is 12 out of 60 as a percentage?
Start with the formula: n1⁄n2 × 100% Don't forget: / means ÷.
Substitute the numbers into the formula. The formula is for n1 out of n2.In our example, we are finding 12 out of 60, so n1 = 12 and n2 = 60. 12⁄60 × 100% = 12 ÷ 60 × 100% 12⁄60 × 100% = 0.2 × 100% 12⁄60 × 100% = 20% 12 out of 60 expressed as a percentage is 20%. A percentage expresses a part of a whole number as parts out of 100. "Per cent" means "per 100" or "out of 100". A percentage is shown by the symbol %. The formula for expressing the percentage of one number (which we'll call n1) out of another number (which we'll call n2) is:Notice that we have created a fraction with the numbers n1 and n2. n1 is the top number of the fraction (called the numerator) and n2 is the bottom number of the fraction (called the denominator). By writing this fraction, we have expressed n1 out of n2 as a fraction. Read more about how to express one number as a fraction of another number This fraction is then multiplying a number (100%). Read more about how to find a fraction of a number
Find a percentage or work out the percentage given numbers and percent values. Use percent formulas to figure out percentages and unknowns in equations. Add or subtract a percentage from a number or solve the equations. How to Calculate PercentagesThere are many formulas for percentage problems. You can think of the most basic as X/Y = P x 100. The formulas below are all mathematical variations of this formula. Let's explore the three basic percentage problems. X and Y are numbers and P is the percentage:
Read on to learn more about how to figure percentages. 1. How to calculate percentage of a number. Use the percentage formula: P% * X = YExample: What is 10% of 150?
2. How to find what percent of X is Y. Use the percentage formula: Y/X = P%Example: What percent of 60 is 12?
3. How to find X if P percent of it is Y. Use the percentage formula Y/P% = XExample: 25 is 20% of what number?
Remember: How to convert a percentage to a decimal
Remember: How to convert a decimal to a percentage
Percentage ProblemsThere are nine variations on the three basic problems involving percentages. See if you can match your problem to one of the samples below. The problem formats match the input fields in the calculator above. Formulas and examples are included.
Related CalculatorsFind the change in percentage as an increase or decrease using the Percentage Change Calculator. Solve decimal to percentage conversions with our Decimal to Percent Calculator. Convert from percentage to decimals with the Percent to Decimal Calculator. If you need to convert between fractions and percents see our Fraction to Percent Calculator, or our Percent to Fraction Calculator. ReferencesWeisstein, Eric W. "Percent." From MathWorld -- A Wolfram Web Resource. |