Sunday, March 22, 2009

Exciting Arithmetic - Percentages

In mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100 (per cent meaning "per hundred"). It is often denoted using the percent sign, "%". For example, 45% is equal to 45 / 100, or 0.45.

Percentages are used to express how large one quantity is, relative to another quantity. The first quantity usually represents a part of, or a change in, the second quantity which should be greater than zero.

For example, an increase of $ 0.15 on a price of $ 2.50 is an increase by a fraction of 0.15 / 2.50 = 0.06. Expressed as a percentage, this is therefore a 6% increase.

Percentages are correctly used to express fractions of the total. For example, 25% means 25 / 100, or one quarter, of some total.

Percentages larger than 100 can be meant literally (such as "a family must earn at least 125% over the poverty line to sponsor a spouse visa").

Here are other examples:

  1. What is 200% of 30?

Answer: 200% × 30 = (200 / 100) × 30 = 60.

  1. What is 13% of 98?

Answer: 13% × 98 = (13 / 100) × 98 = 12.74.

  1. 60% of all university students are male. There are 2400 male students. How many students are in the university?

Answer:400 = 60% × X, therefore X = (2400 / (60 / 100)) = 4000.

  1. What is 13 of 20?

Answer:13/20=65/100=65%

  1. A stall selling clothes of with a discount of 50% had no people buying its clothes,so it increased its discount to 99%. The original price of a piece of clothing is $200.

(a)What is its first discounted price?

(b)What is its final discounted price?

Answer= (a) 1/2 x $200=$100

(b) 1/100x $200 = $2

Acknowledgements:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percentage

No comments:

Post a Comment