What is a percentage?

Like decimals and fractions, percentages are a way of expressing proportion.

Proportion tells us how much of one thing there is in relation to the whole.

The sign % stands for 'per cent'.

Per cent, in percentage, means 'out of 100'.

For example, 40% means 40 out of 100.

Complete this interactive activity to understand what percentages are, then put your knowledge to the test.

Percentages are a way to show a part of a whole number, amount, or shape.

The per cent sign % is used to represent percentages. Per cent means 'out of 100'.

Imagine something is divided into 100 equal parts, each part is 1 per cent of the whole.

10 parts would be 10%, 50 parts would be 50%, and 100 parts would be 100%, or the whole.

You can use tools like grids, bar models, and part-whole models to understand percentages better.

For example, a 100 grid with 45 squares shaded shows 45%, because 45 out of 100 parts are shaded.

Part-whole models can be used to find missing percentages.

To calculate a missing part, you must use subtraction to find the difference between 100% (the whole) and the given per cent.

For example, if the given (or known) part is 45%:

100 - 45 = 55

So the missing per cent is 55%.