How to write down a percentage (fractions to percentages)

In this article I will explain how you can change a fraction to a percentage. All you need to do is make an equivalent fraction with 100 on the denominator of your fraction. Let’s take a look at some examples on how to convert a fraction to a percentage.

Example 1

Change 3/5 to a percentage.

First make your equivalent fraction.

3/5 = ?/100

So all you need to do now is work out the numerator.

Do this by working out how many 5’s go into 100.

100 ÷ 5 = 20.

So you also need to multiply the numerator by 20.

3 × 20 = 60

So 3/5 = 60/100

Therefore our percentage is 60%

Example 2

Change 7/25 to a percentage.

First make your equivalent fraction.

7/25 = ?/100

Now dividing 100 by 25 you get 4. So you also need to multiply the numerator by 4.

7 × 4 = 28. So:

7/25 = 28/100.

Therefore 7/25 is the same as 28%.

Example 3

In a survey on favourite days of the week:

7 people said Saturday

9 people said Friday

4 people said Sunday

What percentage of the total survey said that Friday was their favourite day of the week?

First you will need to write down the fraction of people that said Friday was their favourite day of the week.

This is 9/20, since 9 people said Friday and there are 2o people in total.

Next you need to make an equivalent fraction with 100 on the denominator.

9/20 = ?/100

Now 100 divided by 20 is 5, so you need to multiply the numerator by 5.

9 × 5 = 45

So 9/20 = 45/100.

Therefore, the percentage of people that said Friday was 45%.

Example 4

Write 15/18 as a percentage?

Again, start by making an equivalent fraction with 100 on the denominator of your new fraction.

15/18 = ?/100

So all you need to do now is work out the numerator.

Do this by working out how many 18’s go into 100. You will need a calculator to do this as 18 does not divide exactly into 100.

100 ÷ 18 = 5.5˙                   

So you need to multiply the numerator by 5.5˙.

15 × 5.5˙ = 83.3˙

So 3/5 = 83.3˙/100

Therefore our percentage is 83% rounded to the nearest whole number.

Example 5

In a test Mark scores 184 out of 200 marks. What is his percentage score?

Again you need to make an equivalent fraction out of 100.

184/200 = ?/100

Now, all you need to do next  is to divide the numerator by 2 (since 200 ÷ 100 = 2)

184 ÷ 2 = 92

So 184/200 = 92/100

Therefore, Mark scored 92% in his test.