"Per cent" means per hundred. 35% is the ratio 35 : 100.
Step 1: Let's Learn
Read it, or press Listen and follow the words.
Three ways to write one amount
35% is 35/100, which is 0.35. All three are the same number.
Benchmarks worth knowing
50% is a half, 25% is a quarter, 10% is a tenth. Most percent work builds on these.
Why a hundred
Fixing the second number lets any two percents be compared at a glance.
Percent means per hundred
45% means 45 out of every 100, which is the ratio 45 : 100, the fraction 45/100, and the decimal 0.45. Four notations, one number. Percent is a ratio with the second term pinned at 100 so that any two percentages can be compared instantly.
Why a hundred
Fixing the denominator makes comparison trivial: 45% beats 38% with no calculation at all. Choosing a hundred rather than ten gives enough precision for most purposes while keeping the numbers small. It is a convention chosen for convenience.
Moving between the forms
To go from percent to decimal, divide by 100 — the digits shift two places right, so 45% becomes 0.45. To go back, shift two places left. To reach a fraction, write over 100 and simplify: 45/100 = 9/20.
Percentages can exceed 100
150% means one and a half times the whole. Prices rise by more than 100%, populations grow by more than 100%. Percent is not capped at 100 — that only feels natural because so many percentages describe a part of a fixed whole.
Step 2: Try It Yourself
Tap and try it out.
35/100 = 0.35
35 hundredths is 35/100, written 0.35.
Step 3: Watch an Example
One step at a time.
Watch Leo Convert 8%
Leo writes 8% as a fraction and a decimal.
- Step 1
Per cent means per hundred, so 8% is 8/100.
Step 4: Your Turn
Practice makes it stick.
The Test
Problem 1 of 2
45 out of 100 marks. What percent is that?
percent
The Other Test
Problem 2 of 2
9 out of 20 marks. What percent is that?
percent
Out of a Hundred
1 of 4
7 out of 10 as a percent?
2 of 4
3 out of 4 as a percent?
3 of 4
12 out of 25 as a percent?
4 of 4
What is 0.6 as a percent?
Step 5: Quick Check
Show what you know.
Question 1 of 2
17 out of 20 as a percent?
Question 2 of 2
What does "per cent" mean?
What You Learned
- A percent is a rate per hundred.
- 35% is 35/100 is 0.35.
- Fixing the second number at 100 makes percents comparable.