We often hear things like,
‘He topped the class with 95% marks’
‘The air around us has 21% of oxygen’
or ‘This cloth is made up of 80% of cotton’
But what exactly do we mean by this?
Percentage is per-cent
where, cent ⇒ century = 100
Hence, percentage is per 100
So, percent (%) = 1/100
What does 50% mean?
50% means 50 out of 100
i.e.
50% = 50 × 1/100
= 50/100
= 5/10
= 1/2
So, 50% means 1/2
What does 100% mean?
100% means 100 out of 100
100% = 100 × 1/100
= 1
So, 100% means 1
What does 20% mean?
20% means 20 out of 100
20% = 20 × 1/100
= 20/100
= 2/10
= 1/5
So, 20% means 1/5
We can also represent percentage in decimals.
Represent 50% in decimal
50% = 50 × 1/100
= 5 × 1/10
= 5/10
= 0.5
So, 50% also means 0.5
Represent 100 % in decimal
100% = 100 × 1/100
= 1
So, 100% also means 1
Represent 20 % in decimal
20% = 20 × 1/100
= 2 × 1/10
= 2/10
= 0.2
So, 20% also means 0.2
