Definition of Terms

1. Percent is an expression indicating the number of parts taken from a hundred. Literally, “percent”
means by, or, on the hundred. Instead of saying “hundredths” we often use the term per cent. For
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example or .04 may be written as 4%.
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2. Ratio is a relationship between two numbers or like quantities. It may be expressed in the form of
a fraction. The ratio 36:27 of the number of girls to that boys (read as 36 is to 27), may be written
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as 4:3 or in the simplest form .
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3. Proportion is an expression of two equivalent ratios. Hence 3:4 = 9:12 is a proportion. In the
example, 3 and 12, or the first and fourth terms are called extremes, while 4 and 9, which are the
second and third terms, are called means. Therefore, if a sentence is a proportion, the product of
the extremes is equal to the product of the means.

Conversion Techniques
A. Changing Decimal to Percent
 To change decimal to percent, multiply the decimal number by 100 which is equivalent to
moving the decimal point two places to the right, and then affix the percent sign (%).
Ex.
1. .16 = 16 = 16% or 16 × 100 = 16%
2. .125 = 12.5 = 12.5% or .125 × 100 = 12.5%
3. .04 = 04 = 4% or .04 × 100 = 4%
4. 0.435 = 43.5 = 43.5% or 0.435 × 100 = 43.5%

B. Changing Percent to Decimal

 To change percent to decimal, divide the given number by 100, which is equivalent to
moving the decimal point two places to the left, and then drop the percent sign(%).
Ex.
1. 14% = 14 ÷ 100 = .14 or 14 = .14
2. 3% = 3 ÷ 100 = .03 or 3 = .03
3. 15.5% ÷ 100 = .155 or 15.5 = .155
4. 0.11% ÷ 100 = 0.0011 or 0.11= 0.0011
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5. 4 % = 1 ÷ 2 = .5 then bring down 4,
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4.5% = 4.5 ÷ 100 = 0.045 or 4.5 = 0.045

C. Changing Fraction to Percent

 To change the fraction to percent, change the fraction first to its decimal equivalent. Then
move the decimal point two places to the right and affix the percent sign (%).
Ex.
5
1. = 5 ÷ 8 = .625 = .625 × 100 = 62.5% or .625 = 62.5%
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 4
2. = 4 ÷ 5 = .8 = .8 × 100 = 80% or .8 = 80%
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3. = 3 ÷ 8 = 0.375 = 0.375 × 100 = 37.5% or 0.375 = 37.5%
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