How to Convert to Percentage
The ability to convert numbers, fractions and decimals into percentages is requisite for many industries, including engineering, economics and business. It’s also very useful in everyday life – we all know to tip 15% but how many of us can calculate that quickly? Likewise, the ability to describe quantity with a percentage helps us visualize and understand the amount. The guide below explains how to convert various values into percentages.
Converting to Percentage
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Case 1: Convert a whole number to a percentage
A whole number is any positive number that does not include a decimal or fraction. Examples of whole numbers are 3, 5, 8, 23 and 42. Fractions and decimals, for example 6 ½ or 7.25, are not whole numbers. Negative numbers are integers, but not whole numbers.
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- 3Sometimes percentages are greater than one hundred. If you usually earn 100 dollars a day, but on Friday earn 200 hundred, what percent of your usual amount have you earned?
- Divide the new amount by the usual amount.
- 200 ÷ 100 = 2
- Multiply this number by 100.
- 2 x 100 = 200
- You’ve earned 200% of your usual income.
- 4Using calories as an example, if the recommended daily caloric intake is 2000 calories, and you eat 1500 extra calories worth of ice cream, what percent of the daily intake have you eaten?
- Divide your splurge (2000 + 1500 = 3500) by the recommended amount of calories.
- 3500 ÷ 2000 = 1.75
- Multiply this number by 100.
- 1.75 x 100 = 175
- You ate 175% of the recommended daily calories.
- Divide your splurge (2000 + 1500 = 3500) by the recommended amount of calories.
Case 2: Convert a number with a decimal point to a percentage
- 1Multiply the decimal by one hundred. Let’s use .256 as the example:
- Multiply .256 by one hundred.
- When you multiply whole numbers by 100, you add two zeros to the end of the number. For example, 3 x 100 = 300.
- When you multiply a decimal such as .256 by 100, the increased value is represented by moving the decimal point two digits to the right, one move for every 0: .256 x 100 = 25.6.
- Thus, .256 is equal to 25.6% (of 100).
- Multiply .256 by one hundred.
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Case 3: Convert a fraction to a percentage
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- 2If the fraction has a denominator that is a factor of 100 (a whole number that can be multiplied by another whole number to get 100), you can multiply the fraction by that number:
- 3/4 can be multiplied by 25 to get a numerator of 75 and denominator of 100: 3/4 x 25 = 75/100.
- 3/4 x 25 = 75/100, which equals 75%.
- Another example is 3/10.
- Multiply 3/10 by 10 and you get 30/100 or 30%.
- 2/5 x 20 = 40/100 or 40%
- 3/4 can be multiplied by 25 to get a numerator of 75 and denominator of 100: 3/4 x 25 = 75/100.
- 3If the denominator is not a factor of zero, divide the numerator by the denominator, and then multiply the resulting decimal by 100.
- To convert 5/17 to a percent, divide 5 by 17 (5 ÷ 17) and then multiply this by 100.
- 5 ÷ 17 = .29411
- .29411 x 100 = 29.411% (remember that when we multiply a decimal by 100, we move the decimal two numbers to the right, one move for each zero).
- To convert 5/6 into a percent, 5 is divided by 6.
- 5 ÷ 6 = .8333333
- .8333 x 100 = 83.33%
- To convert 5/17 to a percent, divide 5 by 17 (5 ÷ 17) and then multiply this by 100.
Converters
- Converting to percentages is the same as finding an equivalent fraction with a denominator of 100 and then reporting only the numerator with a percent sign (%) after it.
- A percentage is a number of parts out of 100. One way to think of a percentage is as a the numerator of a fraction that has a denominator of 100.
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Conversion Aids
Edited by IngeborgK, Me, Myself, & I, Smiththenarwhal, Teresa and 7 others
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