Solution: 71/2 as a percent is 3550%
Methods
Method 1 – Converting 71/2 Into a Percentage:
First, let’s go over what a fraction represents. The number above the line is called the numerator, while the number below the line is called the denominator. The fraction shows how many portions of the number there are, in relation to how many would make up the whole. For instance, in the fraction 71/2, we could say that the value is 71 portions, out of a possible 2 portions to make up the whole.
For percentages, the difference is that we want to know how many portions there are if there are 100 portions possible. “Percent” means “per hundred”. For example, if we look at the percentage 25%, that means we have 25 portions of the possible 100 portions. Re-writing this in fraction form, we see 25/100.
The first step in converting a fraction to a percentage is to adjust the fraction so that the denominator is 100. To do this, you first divide 100 by the denominator:
100
2
=
50
\frac{100}{2} = 50
2 100 = 50
We can then adjust the whole fraction using this number, like so:
71
∗
50
2
∗
50
=
3550
100
\frac{71*50}{2*50} = \frac{3550}{100}
2 ∗ 50 71 ∗ 50 = 100 3550
Reading this as a fraction, we can say that we have 3550 portions of a possible 100 portions.
Re-writing this as a percentage, we can see that 71/2 as a percentage is 3550%
Method 2 – Converting 71/2 Into a Percentage Using Decimals:
Another way we can convert 71/2 into a percentage is to first convert 71/2 into a decimal. We can do this by simply dividing the numerator by the denominator:
71
2
=
35.5
\frac{71}{2} = 35.5
2 71 = 35.5
Once we have the answer, we can multiply the new decimal by 100 to get the percentage:
35.5 × 100 = 3550
As you can see, we get the same answer as the first method and find that 71/2 as a percentage is 3550%.
Now you know of two different ways to convert 71/2 into a percentage! While converting using a decimal takes fewer steps, you first need to master converting fractions into decimals. Try out both methods and see which one works best for you!
Practice more percentage problems!
Practice makes perfect so why not check out some of other problems where you can convert a fraction to a percentage?
What is 8/58 as a percent?
What is 88/91 as a percent?
What is 4/92 as a percent?
What is 20/55 as a percent?
What is 74/3 as a percent?