Quantitative Aptitude: Percentages

 In this blog post, we will demystify percentages, providing you with the knowledge and tools to understand and work with percentages effectively.

What is a Percentage?

A percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100. It is denoted by the symbol "%". For instance, 50% represents 50 out of 100, or 50/100, which is equivalent to 0.5. Percentages are often used to compare quantities or to express proportions. It's essentially a ratio, but it's expressed in terms of 100.

Conversion:

  • From Percentage to Fraction: To convert a percentage to a fraction, place the percentage value over 100 and  if possible, you can simplify further. For example, 50% is equivalent to 50/100, which simplifies to 1/2.
  • From Percentage to Decimal: To convert a percentage to a decimal, divide the percentage by 100. For example, 70% becomes 0.70 as a decimal.
  • From Fraction to Percentage: To convert a fraction to a percentage, multiply it by 100. For example, 1/4 is equivalent to 25% when expressed as a percentage.
  • From Decimal to Percentage: To convert a decimal to a percentage, multiply it by 100. For example, 0.45 becomes 45% as a percentage.

Finding the Percentage:

To find the percentage of a number, multiply the number by the percentage as a decimal. For example, to calculate 30% of 80, you can do: 30 % of 80 = 0.30 × 80 =24

Finding Total or Whole from Percentage:

Conversely, if you know a percentage and want to find the total or whole, you can divide the part by the percentage as a decimal. For example, if you have 30% of a number as 12, you can find the whole or total by dividing 12 by 0.3 (30% as a decimal), resulting in a whole of 40.

Percentage Increase:

Percentage Increase=((New Value−Original Value)/Original Value) × 100%

Few scenarios where Percentage Increase can be greater than 100%:

  • Salary: For example, Ram's current salary is 10000. He gets a new offer from a rival company and salary they are offering is 25000. The Percentage increase is 250%
  • Profit/Finance: For example, Company makes a profit of 100000 in 2023, while in 2022 its profit was 40000. The percentage increase is 150%.

Percentage Decrease:

Percentage Decrease=((Original Value−New Value)/Original Value) x 100%

Click Here  to test your knowledge on Percentages.

Instructions:

  • Choose Percentages  from 'Select test Topic' drop down.
  • Each correct selection results in 1 mark.
  • Each in-correct selection results in -0.33 mark.
  • All the Best

Stay tuned for the next blog !!!