How to Find Percentage

Calculating percentages is a useful skill in everyday life, helping you understand discounts, grades, and statistics. If you’re wondering how to find a percentage, this guide will take you through simple steps and examples to make it easy.

What is a Percentage?

A percentage represents a part out of 100. When you see a percentage, it’s simply a fraction or portion of a whole number expressed out of 100. For example, 50% means 50 out of 100, or half.

Basic Formula to Calculate Percentage

To find a percentage, you can use this basic formula:

Percentage (%) = (Part ÷ Whole) × 100

Where:

• Part is the portion or amount you’re interested in.
• Whole is the total or original amount.

Step 1: Identify the Part and the Whole

Start by determining the “part” (the amount you’re comparing) and the “whole” (the total amount). For example, if a student scored 45 out of 50 on a test:

• Part = 45
• Whole = 50

Step 2: Divide the Part by the Whole

Divide the part by the whole to get a decimal. For our example:

• 45 ÷ 50 = 0.9

Step 3: Multiply by 100 to Get the Percentage

Now, take the decimal result and multiply it by 100:

• 0.9 × 100 = 90%

So, the student’s score is 90%.

Example Calculations

Here are some more examples to help illustrate:

• Example 1: You have 20 red balls out of 80 total balls.
  Calculation: (20 ÷ 80) × 100 = 25%
  Result: 25% of the balls are red.
• Example 2: A shirt is originally $40 and is discounted by $10.
  Calculation: (10 ÷ 40) × 100 = 25%
  Result: The shirt is discounted by 25%.

How to Find Percentage of a Number

If you want to find a specific percentage of a number, use this formula:

Part = (Percentage × Whole) ÷ 100

For example, to find 20% of 150:

• (20 × 150) ÷ 100 = 30
  Result: 20% of 150 is 30.

Tips for Quick Percentage Calculations

• 50% is half of the number.
• 25% is a quarter of the number.
• 10% is one-tenth of the number.

Understanding these shortcuts can make percentage calculations faster.

Conclusion

Finding percentages is easy once you know the steps: identify the part and whole, divide, and multiply by 100. With a little practice, calculating percentages will become second nature. Whether it’s for shopping discounts, test scores, or statistics, percentages are everywhere, and now you’re ready to handle them confidently!