How do you calculate the percentage value?

Although there's no real reason, quite a few students are somewhat apprehensive about topics involving percentage calculations. To calculate percentages, all you need to do is memorize basic formulas and apply calculation techniques. Maybe in your first encounter with percentages, you answered relatively simple questions, but as you progress through the curriculum and move to higher grades, the topics and questions become more complex.

Calculating the percentage value is one of the questions you will need to answer. What is the purpose of the question? To understand what percentage represents a certain part. Naturally, such a question will appear as part of various problems you will face, regardless of your study group or the learning units you are assigned to. So how do we calculate a percentage value?

The formula you will use to calculate the percentage value is: divide the specific part by the total amount, and multiply by one hundred. And now? Examples:

First example:

Michal bought $80$ cupcakes for her birthday party. She couldn't resist waiting for her friends to arrive, and ate $15$ cupcakes by herself before they came. What percentage of the cupcakes did she eat?

Solution

Total number of cakes: $80$

The number of cakes she ate: $15$

The calculation: $\frac{15}{80} \cdot 100 = 18.75\%$

Second example:

Lana's friends wanted to treat her with a birthday gift! They were interested in a dress that costs about $300$ Dollars, but the seller gave them a special discount of about $60$ Dollars. What percentage discount did Lana's friends receive?

Solution

• Initial price: $300$.
• Discount: $60$ Dollars.
• Calculation: $\frac{60}{300} \cdot100 = 20\%$.