Mallory Keovilayphone

FIN 1380
Dr. Pook Suetorsak
December 3, 2014

Decimals and Percents

Decimals and percents are something we see and use every single day even without us
realizing it. They are both interrelated in showing parts of a whole number. Basically, they are
two different ways of showing how much less of a whole you have. In life things are not going to
equal to an even amount, so decimals give us a chance to figure out exactly what the amount is.
Even using percentage in our lives up us solve simple issues like seeing how much has been
completed on a task.
Per the book we used for this semester, Practical Business Math Procedures, written by
Jeffrey Slater and Sharon M. Wittry. The definition of a decimal is: a decimal number with digits
to the right of a decimal point, indicating that decimals, like fractions, are parts of a whole that
are less than one. With using decimals we are able to take a whole number and divide it up even
smaller. Just like fractions, but using fractions in currency would not be practical. Without a
decimal, it would be confusing to some if a clerk told you owed, 1 dollar and a of a dollar. Its
much easier for the consumer to be told they owe a $1.50, instead of that.
Now with percentages, per the definition from the book, Practical Business Math
Procedures, written by Jeffrey Slater and Sharon M. Wittry. You can use percents in figuring
out an amount from a part of a 100. If you were to do a survey on a hundred people, and 20 of
them stated they like chocolate milk. You could then express the results as, 20% of people like
chocolate milk. In the business world when it comes to sales, percents are an easy way to explain
how much sales have increased or decreased. It give their investors, employees, and the public a
better idea on how well the company is doing.
Percents are also interchangeable with decimals, because the symbol (%) translates to
hundredths. Without this knowledge someone might not know how to calculate their raise they
receive from their job. For example, and employee receives a 6% raise over the amount they are
currently making, which would be $12.50. To figure out how much the employee will be making
with this raise, you cannot simply multiply the current pay with the percent. You need to convert
the percent into .06. Knowing that the percent stands for hundredths you would know to move
the decimal over two places to the left.
In conclusion, decimals and percents are something we all have to use in our daily lives.
Life does not come in whole numbers and you need decimals to help break them down. There
would be no need for pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters without decimals. Same with percents,
they help provide a prospective on data receive on a survey for example. They both help provide
a clear view to the data we see all around us in life.