Algebra/Chapter 3/Percent
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3.7: Percentages
Percentages
[edit | edit source]Percentages are another way of representing rational numbers. Rational numbers can be represented as decimals, fractions or percentages.
Percent, when you actually break the word apart, consists of two words: per and cent. Per is a small but extremely powerful word. It means "to divide". Cent is a Latin word for 100. Percent, then, means "divide by 100".
To convert from a fraction to a percentage, we simply multiply the fraction by 100. For example, .
To convert from a decimal to a percentage, we first convert the decimal into a fraction, and then proceed with the approach outlined above. For example, .