Percentages or also known as percentages are mathematical data that can scare us a bit when calculating them. Most people know what a percentage is and what it represents (a part of a whole).
This data is very useful for analysis and assessment, and for expressing results. It is common to hear on the news that a certain percentage of the population has found a job, or that home sales have dropped by a certain percentage. It is also common to calculate percentages on benefits, even to know what part of a total is finished at a certain time. Its application in various fields and areas is extensive, even on a day-to-day basis, so it is important that you know how to get a percentage and what it represents and means.
If you need to get a percentage and you don’t know how to do it or how to calculate a result of a certain percentage, we are going to help you do it easily. However, if you don’t want to memorize the formula, you can always apply the rule of three and work out your percentage from there.
There are several cases in which we can be presented with the calculation of a percentage, and we only have to substitute the data we have in the formula to calculate the missing one. Below we will detail all of them, as well as the functions that we will use in each case.
It is important that when calculating the percentage each data is expressed correctly and to the extent that it should be, just as it should always be indicated with the symbol “%” when a number is a percentage.
Keep reading this article from doncomos.com where we show you an extensive but easy explanation on how to get a percentage of a figure in various ways and how to obtain the results that we want to know at certain times, including some examples to make it easier for you to understand both the process and its application in daily life, and you can also practice the process at home.
To calculate the percentage you want to know, you can directly obtain the result by doing the process with the calculator directly, but if you are starting to study it or want to learn it more easily, it is always better to write on paper how you have calculated it, that is, write everything the process so that you can always consult it if necessary and also it will stay much more in your head and it will be more visual. The final result can always be calculated by yourself or with the help of a calculator.
Calculate a percentage by means of a rule of three
The rules of three are easy to see and understand, and they can help you solve your percentage calculations. You simply have to have the total amount that makes up 100%, the amount you want to know the percentage of, or this percentage of the total. The rule of three can be used in all cases of calculating percentages that are presented to you.
For example:
If 2,000 is the total number of pencils we have, what percentage does the 750 that are preparing to send to a school represent?
Then using a rule of three we will proceed to calculate the percentage in this way. We will always focus on relating the data in a cross, that is, the quantity on the top left is related to the quantity on the bottom right and vice versa. These data will be multiplied, and then divided by the amount that remains related to the unknown.
In our example we will proceed as follows:
2000 ————–at 100%
750 —————à X
It will be resolved as follows:
We will multiply 750 x 100 = 75000
And then we will divide this amount by 2000. 75000/2000= 37.5
Which means that of a total of 2,000 pencils they are preparing to send 750, or what is the same, 37.5%.
Calculate the quantity taking the percentage of a total
In this case, we will have a total amount and we would like to know what amount would correspond to a percentage calculated on that amount.
Let’s see a simple formula, which is faster to apply in this case and which will not be difficult for you to learn.
For example, we want to distribute assets, and one of the interested parties is interested in knowing their part, which corresponds to 68% of a total of 600,000 euros.
We’re just going to take the two amounts and multiply and divide.
We will multiply the total by the number before the percentage. 600000 x 68= 40800000
And we are going to divide this result by 100, which is the equivalent of the percentage. 40800000/100= 408000 euros.
In short, our interested party would get 600,000 euros, an amount of 408,000 taking into account his percentage of 68%.
This amount can also be obtained with a rule of three, if it is easier for you this way.
600000 ———at 100%
X ——————at 68%
It is the same, we will multiply the inverses 600000*68 and divide by 100 obtaining the amount of 408000.
Calculate the total quantity having a quantity and the percentage that it represents in the total
In this case we are talking about the fact that we do not know the total amount, and we would like to know it. We know an exact amount and the percentage that it represents in the total amount.
For example. We know that we have received 25% of the boards ordered, which is 40, how many boards do we request from the supplier?
In this case we will multiply 40 by 100 and divide by the percentage amount. Namely:
40*100= 4000 and then 4000/25= 160
The total boards ordered from our supplier were 160.
Through a rule of three we will proceed to carry out this calculation as follows:
X ——-à100 %
40——at 25%
So, we will multiply the opposites without unknowns 40*100= 4000 and then divide by 25. We will obtain as a result: 4000/25= 160
Calculates the percentage equivalent to a quantity with respect to the total
In this case we want to know the percentage that represents a quantity knowing the total of what we are talking about.
For example.
Last year the company Construcciones SL had profits of 150,000 euros, of which 75,000 euros came from simple repair works. The company wants to know what percentage of the total profits correspond to these types of repairs.
We would calculate this percentage by multiplying 75,000 x 100 and then dividing the result by the total 150,000.
Namely:
75000 x 100= 7,500,000
7,500.00 / 150,000= 50%
Which means that half of the profits, 50% came from simple repair works.
If we want to calculate it with a rule of three, we would consider it like this:
150,000 ——-à100%
75,000 ——–à X
We multiply the inverses with no unknown and then divide. 75,000 x 100= 7,500,000
7,500,000/150,000= 50%
With these steps we have explained step by step how to get a percentage. You already see that you can always use a rule of three, as long as you are clear about the concepts and where each one goes, but perhaps in the future it will be faster for you to know the formulas and apply them directly to carry out the calculations. You can also perform the corresponding multiplication and division directly on a calculator and get the results even faster.