How to Find Percentage

Mathematics is a subject hated by many. It involves a lot of logical reasoning and tricky calculations. Loads of theories and formulas, along with the countless numbers go in, to make mathematics such a vast subject. Learning or teaching mathematics should be a systematic process with all the basic concepts studied in a proper order. Here in this article we shall see one of the basic mathematical concepts, percentage. Let us see what is percentage and how to calculate percentage.

Percentage
Percentage, meaning per cent or per 100, is a way of expressing any number as a fraction of 100. It is denoted by the percent sign, "%". The denominator is fixed as 100. Percentage is used to compare the quantities relative to each other, as to how large or small a quantity is with respect to the other. Let's take an example.

When I say that there are 50 girls in a class of 200 students, it means that 25% of the students are girls and the rest 75% are boys. You can write it as 25/100 or 25%. It can also be written as 0.25, it all means the same. So, now that you know what percentage is and how it is denoted, let's move on to calculating percentage. Let us learn how to find percentage.

How to Find Percentage of a Number
The simplest answer to the question how to find a percentage is to divide the given number by the total number and then multiply the answer by 100. This gives you the percentage of the number.

The equation or formula to find percentage is as follows.

Percentage = (Given number/Total number)*100

For example, if your score in an exam is 45 out of 50, this is how you find the percentage.
Percent score = (45/50)*100 = 90%

Calculating Percentage of Two Numbers
You may be asked to find out the percentage of two numbers in different ways, like calculating the percentage of the lower number to the higher or vice versa. Keep in mind that the number of which percentage is to be found should be the numerator and the other number, the denominator. Find the answer and multiply it by 100.

For example,
If you are given to numbers, say 15 and 40, and asked to find the percentage of the lower number to the higher, this is how you go about it.

15/40 = 0.375, multiply it by 100, that is, 0.375*100 = 37.5%
So, the number 15 is 37.5% of the number 40.

How to Find Percentage Change
To find the percentage change, just subtract the smaller number from the bigger one. Then divide the answer by the original number, that is, the number you subtracted. Now multiply it by 100 and you get the percentage change.

For example, if the initial price is 50, and has now increased to 65, this is how to calculate the percentage increase.

65-50 = 15/50 = 0.3*100 = 30% increase.

Using Calculator
A calculator is meant to help you with the tricky mathematical calculations. It makes your job easier by doing most of the number calculations for you. This is how to find percentages on a calculator.

• Enter the number you want to calculate the percentage of.
• Then press the multiplication key, that is, the key with a "*" sign.
• Then hit the "%" key and the answer will pop on the screen.

That was pretty simple, wasn't it? So, now that you know how to find percentage, get ready to play with numbers without really fearing about them. Just use the simple formula given above and get the percentage right.