Percentages as Fractions and Decimals (1)

The symbol % stands for 'per cent' or 'percent', which means 'out of a hundred'.

'Cent' is the French for 'hundred' and the % looks a bit like two zeros with a 1 through them... 0|0.

We can easily convert between percentages, fractions and decimals.

45% (45 percent)  is equal  to 45/100 (45 hundredths)  =  0.45

78% (78 percent)  is equal  to 78/100 (78 hundredths)  =  0.78

5% (5 percent)  is equal  to 5/100 (5 hundredths)  =  0.05

40% (40 percent)  is equal  to 40/100 (40 hundredths)  =  0.40 = 0.4

(Remember to change 0.40 to 0.4 in the last example as the final zero is not needed.)