Retail marketers often advertise sale products as being a certain percentage off. For example, a store may have a 30-percent-off sale on designer jeans. That 30 percent off is the percentage of the sale cost in relation to the regular price charged by the retailer. Calculating the percentage difference between two different costs involves doing division and multiplication. A percentage represents part of a whole and is calculated by dividing the part amount by the whole amount to learn the fraction difference, then multiplying the result by 100, as "percent" literally means "part in 100."
Instructions
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1
Write down the lower cost. Write down the higher cost. For example, write $15 as the lower cost, and $30 as the higher cost.
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2
Write an equation that divides the lower cost by the higher cost.
For example: 15/30
The lower number serves as the division equation's numerator. The higher number serves as the denominator.
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3
Solve the equation.
For example: 15/30 = 0.5
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4
Multiply the result in Step 3 by 100. The result is the percentage between the two costs.
For example: 0.5*100 = 50
In this example, therefore, $15 is 50 percent of $30.