Understanding Percentages and Decimals
A percentage represents a portion out of 100. The word "percent" literally means "per hundred" (from Latin "per centum").
A decimal is a way of writing a number that is not a whole number, using a decimal point followed by digits.
Converting Between Percentages and Decimals
- Percentage to Decimal: Divide the percentage by 100 or move the decimal point two places to the left.
- Decimal to Percentage: Multiply the decimal by 100 or move the decimal point two places to the right.
Examples
| Percentage |
Decimal |
Explanation |
| 100% |
1.0 |
100 ÷ 100 = 1.0 |
| 50% |
0.5 |
50 ÷ 100 = 0.5 |
| 25% |
0.25 |
25 ÷ 100 = 0.25 |
| 1% |
0.01 |
1 ÷ 100 = 0.01 |
| 0.5% |
0.005 |
0.5 ÷ 100 = 0.005 |
Real-World Applications
- Finance: Interest rates, discounts, tax rates
- Statistics: Probability, relative frequency
- Science: Concentration, solutions, mixtures
- Business: Profit margins, growth rates