What is a Percent? Simply put, a percent is a way to express a number as a fraction of 100. Percent means “per hundred” or “parts per hundred”. For example, 50% means 50 parts out of 100 or 50/100. 75% is 75 parts out of 100. A percent is just a convenient way to represent a fraction whose denominator is always 100.

Some key percent facts:

• Percents express a ratio. They show the relationship between two numbers.
• Any percent can be converted into a fraction and decimal, and vice versa.
• Percents greater than 100% are possible. For example, if you got a 20% raise on a $50,000 salary, your new salary would be $60,000 – a 120% of your original salary.
• The word “percentage” and the percent symbol (%) both refer to the same thing. They indicate parts per hundred.

Basic Percent Calculations Here are some of the most common percent calculations you’ll encounter and how to easily solve them:

Finding the Percent

To find the percent, you take a part of something and compare it to the total whole.

Example: If there are 25 red cars in a parking lot that contains 100 total cars, what percentage of the cars are red?

• 25 red cars/100 total cars = 0.25 = 25%

So 25% of the cars are red.

Finding the Total Whole

If you’re given a percentage and the corresponding part, you can find the total whole.

Example: If 18% of people own dogs and there are 150 dog owners, how many total people are there?

• 18% of people = 150 dog owners
• Let x = total people
  • 18% of x = 150
  • 0.18x = 150
  • x = 150/0.18 = 833 people

So if 18% of people equals 150 dog owners, there must be 833 total people.

Finding a Part

If you know the total whole and the percentage, you can calculate the corresponding part.

Example: A test has 125 questions. If 63% of Lisa’s answers were correct, how many questions did she get right?

• There are 125 total questions
• Lisa got 63% questions correct
• 63% of 125 is x
• 0.63 * 125 = 78.75
• So Lisa got 79 questions correct

To get the actual part from a percent, simply change the percent to a decimal and multiply by the total number.

So in any percent problem, if you have any two pieces, you can plug them in and solve for the missing piece. Our percentage calculator below makes doing this a piece of cake!

Converting Percents, Decimals, and Fractions Being able to seamlessly move between percents, decimals and fractions makes working with percentages much easier. Here’s how to interconvert them:

Percents to Decimals

To change a percent to a decimal, drop the percent sign and move the decimal point two places left. For example:

• 75% becomes 0.75
• 130% becomes 1.30

Percents to Fractions

To convert a percent to a fraction, drop the percent sign and put the number over 100 (since percent means of 100). For example:

• 50% becomes 50/100
• 125% becomes 125/100

Decimals to Percents

To change a decimal to a percent, move the decimal point two places right and add a percent sign. For example:

• 0.85 becomes 85%
• 0.3 becomes 30%

Fractions to Percents

To change a fraction to a percent, divide the numerator by the denominator. Then multiply that decimal number by 100 and add a percent sign. For example:

• 3/4 becomes 0.75 * 100 = 75%
• 5/2 becomes 2.5 * 100 = 250%

You can use these conversion methods to move fluidly between percents, decimals and fractions during percent calculations. Our percentage calculator below takes care of all the conversions for you automatically.

How to Calculate Percents Now let’s look at some of the most useful ways to calculate percentages.

Tip Calculator

Figuring out a good tip amount involves finding a percent. You take the tip percent (typically 15-20%) of the total bill. For example, on a $50 restaurant bill with 18% tip, the tip would be:

• $50 bill x 0.18 (18% in decimal) = $9 tip

So you can calculate a tip by taking the tip rate as a decimal and multiplying by the total bill amount. Our easy percentage calculator below can figure out any tip instantly.

Discount Calculator

To determine a discount amount taken off a regular price, convert the discount percentage to a decimal and multiply by the original non-sale price.

For example, if a $100 item is 25% off during a sale, the discount would be:

• Original price = $100
• 25% as decimal = 0.25
• 0.25 * $100 = $25 discount

So you’d pay 100 – 25 = $75 for that item during the 25% off sale. Pretty simple!

Tax Calculator

To calculate taxes on an amount, ​​convert the tax rate to a decimal number and multiply by the pretax amount. For example:

• Item costs $60
• Sales tax rate is 7.5%
• 7.5% as decimal is 0.075
• 0.075 * $60 = $4.50
• Taxes = $4.50
• Total price = $60 + $4.50 = $64.50

So 7.5% sales tax on a $60 item is $4.50, bringing the total with tax to $64.50. Our handy percent calculator makes tax math easy.

Percentage Increase/Decrease

To find a percent increase or decrease between two numbers:

1. Subtract the two numbers
2. Divide the difference by the original number
3. Convert to a percentage

For example, if you increased from $100 to $150:

1. Difference: $150 – $100 = $50
2. Divide difference by original: 50/100 = 0.5
3. Convert to percentage: 0.5 = 50% increase

So when you increase from $100 to $150, that’s a 50% percent increase. Our calculator automatically handles percent changes for you.

As you can see, just about any percentage problem can be boiled down to a few simple steps. The key is understanding what is being asked and what underlying percent equation fits the scenario. Our handy percentage calculator makes solving all types of percent problems completely painless!

Handy Percentage Calculator To help you easily calculate any percents you encounter, here is a handy Percentage Calculator you can use.

This useful tool lets you:

• Convert between percents, fractions and decimals
• Find percentages of numbers
• Calculate percentage increases and decreases
• Figure out leases, tax rates, discounts, tips and more using percents!

With this easy-to-use percent calculator, you’ll be crunching percentages like a pro in seconds. No confusing formulas needed!

Try out different percent calculation examples above and plug them into the calculator yourself to get comfortable working with percents. This visual tool makes understanding and accurately solving percent problems a total snap.

Become a Percent Whiz! We covered a ton of the key concepts around understanding and calculating percentages. By mastering a few simple rules and techniques, you can work percentages like a mathematical magician! Especially with our included percent calculator tool to handle any difficult computations.

Here’s a quick recap of some of the top percent tips:

• Use the percent equation: Part/Total = Percent/100
• Convert fluently between percents, decimals and fractions
• Calculate discounts, tax rates, tip amounts and percent changes using easy formulas
• Use our interactive Percentage Calculator to solve any percent problems quickly and accurately!

Still struggling with finding percentages or want more percent calculation practice? Try out examples above using real life scenarios like discounts, tips, taxes and figuring out percent changes and increases/decreases. Plug the numbers into our handy web percentage calculator see the percentages calculated live.

Mastering percents is all about pattern recognition and consistent practice. In no time, you’ll be a percent expert! Our visual calculator tool makes achieving percent prowess that much easier.

So break out the percentages in your life – tips, scores, discounts, concentration rates, taxes or other fractions of wholes. Convert them to decimals or fractions, find new percents, and calculate away using our easy number cruncher! Become an arithmetic with percentages and show off your new superpower to figure percents in your head.