Introduction to percentagesCalculate percentage using the 1% method
Per cent means 'per 100'. If 70 per cent of the population own a pet, this means that 70 out of every hundred people own a pet. The symbol % means 'per cent'.
It's often useful to be able to find a percentage of a quantity. For example, you might be told that bus fares are going up by \(5\%\) and you need to know how much more you will need to pay each week.
One way to find a percentage of an amount is to remember that 1 per cent of an amount is one hundredth of it.
So to find 1 per cent of an amount, you can divide it by 100.
Example
To find \(1\%\) of \(400\), divide it by \(100\):
\(400 \div 100 = 4\)
Once you know \(1\%\) of \(400\), you can then find other percentages by multiplying, eg:
\(2\%\) of \(400\) is \(2 \times 4 = 8\).
\(30\%\) of \(400\) is \(30 \times 4 = 120\).
Question
Rakesh has a box containing \({60}\) pens. \(20\%\) of the pens are red.
