Changing Decimal to Percentages Lesson

Problem: What percent of a dollar is 76 cents?

$1.00 = 1.0

76 cents = .76

.76 = 76%

Solution: 76% of a dollar is 76 cents.

The solution to the above problem is not surprising, since dollars, cents and percents are all based on the number 100. To convert a decimal to a percent, multiply the decimal by 100, then add on the % symbol. An easy way to multiply a decimal by 100 is to move the decimal point two places to the right. This is done in the example below.

Example 1: Write each decimal as a percent:    . 93,    .08,    .67,    .41

Each decimal in Example 1 went out two places to the right of the decimal point. However, a decimal can have any number of places to the right of the decimal point. Let’s look at Examples 2 and 3 below.

Example 2: Write each decimal as a percent:     .786,    .002,    .059,    .8719

Example 3: Write each decimal as a percent:     .1958,     .007,    .05623,    .071362

Summary: To write a decimal as a percent, multiply it by 100, then add on the % symbol. To multiply a decimal by 100, move the decimal point two places to the right. Do not forget to include the percent symbol when writing a percent.

Exercises

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