Solution: 72/38 as a percent is 189.474%
Methods
Method 1 – Converting 72/38 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 72/38, we could say that the value is 72 portions, out of a possible 38 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
38
=
2.632
\frac{100}{38} = 2.632
38 100 = 2.632
We can then adjust the whole fraction using this number, like so:
72
∗
2.632
38
∗
2.632
=
189.474
100
\frac{72*2.632}{38*2.632} = \frac{189.474}{100}
38 ∗ 2.632 72 ∗ 2.632 = 100 189.474
Reading this as a fraction, we can say that we have 189.474 portions of a possible 100 portions.
Re-writing this as a percentage, we can see that 72/38 as a percentage is 189.474%
Method 2 – Converting 72/38 Into a Percentage Using Decimals:
Another way we can convert 72/38 into a percentage is to first convert 72/38 into a decimal. We can do this by simply dividing the numerator by the denominator:
72
38
=
1.895
\frac{72}{38} = 1.895
38 72 = 1.895
Once we have the answer, we can multiply the new decimal by 100 to get the percentage:
1.895 × 100 = 189.474
As you can see, we get the same answer as the first method and find that 72/38 as a percentage is 189.474%.
Now you know of two different ways to convert 72/38 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?
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