Calculating Percentages

If you are taking one of your first basic math courses, one thing that you will be introduced to is calculating percentages, as it's one of the most useful mathematical tools to have in your arsenal. You will notice percentage values being quoted everywhere in your textbooks. The aim of this article is to present the simple procedure of calculating percentages of a number.

Calculating percentage is one of the simplest and most useful of mathematical tricks. You will see percentages being quoted everywhere from stock markets to school report sheets. It's one of the simplest ways of quantifying things and presenting comparative ratios. Even if you never go into pure mathematics or engineering sciences, you will need to know how to calculate percentages as it is a concept used in almost every field where quantification is involved. Let me first define what percentage means and then explain a simple formula for calculating percentages.

What is Percentage?

If you break up the word 'percentage', understanding it will be simpler. 'Per-Centage' literally means 'per 100 pieces' of anything, which is one way of specifying the fraction of a complete whole. Simply put, a percentage value is a fraction multiplied by 100. To know how to calculate percentage change or to calculate percent difference you need to first understand how to set up fractions and calculate percentages from it. An example will serve to illustrate what I intend to help you understand. In the next section, I will demonstrate calculating percentages.

How to Calculate Percentages?

Let us see how to calculate percentages. Let's say I have a basket of fruits. Out of a total of 20 fruits, 5 are apples, 10 are oranges and 5 are pineapples. Then the percentage of all three fruits in the basket is calculated in the following way. First determine the 'part' and the 'whole'. Here the 'Whole' is the fruit basket containing 20 fruits and the parts are 5 apples, 10 oranges and 5 pineapples. Secondly, you must determine the fraction of fruits in basket, that are apples, oranges and pineapples. That is, you must establish the fractions. Here the fractions are:

Fraction of Apples in the Basket = 5/20 = ¼

Fraction of Oranges in the Basket = 10/20 = ½

Fraction of Pineapples in the Basket = 5/20 = ¼

So, one can now say that one-fourth of the fruits are apples, half are oranges and another one-fourth are pineapples. Once the fraction has been established, calculating percentages is extremely simple. The percentage of apples in the basket is calculated using following formula.

Percentage (%) = (Part/Whole) x 100

Therefore, in the example presented above,

Percentage of Apples = 5/20 x 100 = ¼ x 100 = 25%

Percentage of Oranges = 10/20 x 100 = 1/2 x 100 = 50%

Percentage of Pineapples = 5/20 x 100 = ¼ x 100 = 25%

As you can see, calculating percentages is an extremely simple exercise. All you need to do is set up the fraction and then multiply it by 100 to get the percentage value. Many times, you'll be calculating percentage increase and decrease in values of different quantities. Percentage calculations have a wide variety of applications. You need to know how to calculate percentage change, if you plan to enter stock trading in future. While a stock trader must know how to calculate percentage increase, a scientist must calculate percent error, every salaried professional must use it to calculate his yearly income tax returns.

Hope this article has left no doubt in your mind about calculating percentages, with percentages, comparing values and ratios becoming considerably simpler! It is a tool that will come handy almost anywhere! Be it shopping, selling or paying your income tax in the future!