Percentage is an important numerical symbol that represents the statistical fraction or ratio of an object, number, or amount. It is useful in various fields, as well as it helps in understanding economic, financial, social, and scientific situations. The percentage value is usually 100, and is denoted by “%”. It is used in various fields for productivity, marketing, studying, and more. Understanding percentage and its use is extremely important in most contexts.
What is percentage?
The word “percentage” is derived from the Latin word “percentum” which means “by hundred”, hence, it is said that percentages are those fractions whose denominator is 100. Percentage means per hundredth or hundredth or hundredth. In mathematics, a percentage is a number or ratio that represents a fractional part of a percentage, i.e., per 100. It is often represented by the symbol % or percent or pct.
Percentages serve a variety of purposes, including making comparisons between quantities, expressing proportions, and making calculations of interest. They find wide application in various fields like business, finance and science.
For example, if your friend scores 80% marks in a math test, it means he has scored 80 marks out of 100. Variantly, this is written as 80/100; As a ratio, it is written as 80:100. It can also be expressed in decimal form as 0.80.
Meaning of Percentage / Definition of Percentage
Percentage is a mathematical expression used to represent a fraction of a whole, usually represented by the symbol “%”. It is a way of expressing a part or portion of something in relation to the whole, usually out of 100. In other words, it determines how much a quantity or value represents in relation to a total or absolute quantity.
Percentage calculation
In this article, we are providing basic definition of percentage along with formula of percentage and percentage questions which helps you in percentage calculation and increase your score in government competitive exams. You can learn shortcut percentage methods and formulas to solve questions on this topic. To score good marks in any exam it is necessary to have knowledge of important topics and clear the basic concepts.
The formula for calculating the percentage of a quantity in relation to the whole is:
Percentage = (whole part) × 100
Here's what each component represents:
- Percentage: The result you are trying to find is expressed as a percentage value.
- Portion: The specific quantity or portion you are interested in.
- Total: total or entire quantity
formula for percentage difference
The percentage difference or percentage change formula is calculated when the difference between two values is divided by the average of similar values. We can say that percentage difference is used to calculate the change in price over a given period.
Percentage difference = (absolute difference / average) × 100
Percentage increase/decrease formula
| Percentage difference = (increase in value – original value / average) × 100 |
| Percentage difference = (original value – reduced value / average) × 100 |
Know how to calculate percentage?
We are providing some examples here to illustrate how to calculate percentage using percentage formula. These questions will help you understand percentage and percentage formula using percentage calculator.
How to calculate percentage change?
We are often asked to calculate what is the percentage change in an amount relative to the initial value: percentage discount on jeans, percentage increase in the quantity of potato chips in a bag, etc. Percentage change is calculated on initial value and final value by following steps:
- Find the difference between the initial and final values.
- Divide the difference by the initial value.
- Convert the quotient to a percentage.
% change = {(final value – initial value) / initial value} X 100
percentage based questions
Example 1: There are 200 students in a class. 90 of them are girls. Find the percentage of girls in the class?
Plough : We have been given,
total students in the class=200
girls in class = 90
Percentage of girls in the class = (girls⁄ total number of students in the class) × 100
Percentage of girls in the class = (90/200)x100 = 45%
Example 2: The price of a $1.50 candy bar increases by 25%. So calculate the new price?
Solution: We are given,
price of candy= $1.50
Increase in price of candy = 25% or 25/100
New price of candy = old price + increased price
New price of candy = 1.50 + 25/100
New price of candy = 1.50 + 1.50 ×.25
New price of candy = $1.875
Example 3: Radha's monthly salary is $1200. She spends $280/month on food. What percentage of monthly salary does she save?
Plough: Radha's monthly salary= $1200
Savings made by Radha= $(1200 – 280) = $920
Part of the salary that she saves = 920/1200
Percentage of salary that she saves = ,920/1200)100 , 920/12 , 76.667 ,
percentage chart
The table below lists some common fractions and their corresponding percentages.
| Different | Percent |
|---|---|
| 1/2 | 50.00% |
| 1/3 | 33.33% |
| 1/4 | 25.00% |
| 1/5 | 20.00% |
| 1/6 | 16.66% |
| 1/7 | 14.28% |
| 1/8 | 12.50% |
| 1/9 | 11.11% |
| 1/10 | 10.00% |
What are real life examples of percentages?
Some real life examples of percentages are listed below:
- Your percentage of marks in math test
- Composition of oxygen, carbon dioxide in air, nuclear power plants etc.
- Battery percentage of your phone or laptop
- percentage of nutrients in food
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