Solution: 42/58 as a percent is 72.414%
Methods
Method 1 – Converting 42/58 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 42/58, we could say that the value is 42 portions, out of a possible 58 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
58
=
1.724
\frac{100}{58} = 1.724
58 100 = 1.724
We can then adjust the whole fraction using this number, like so:
42
∗
1.724
58
∗
1.724
=
72.414
100
\frac{42*1.724}{58*1.724} = \frac{72.414}{100}
58 ∗ 1.724 42 ∗ 1.724 = 100 72.414
Reading this as a fraction, we can say that we have 72.414 portions of a possible 100 portions.
Re-writing this as a percentage, we can see that 42/58 as a percentage is 72.414%
Method 2 – Converting 42/58 Into a Percentage Using Decimals:
Another way we can convert 42/58 into a percentage is to first convert 42/58 into a decimal. We can do this by simply dividing the numerator by the denominator:
42
58
=
0.724
\frac{42}{58} = 0.724
58 42 = 0.724
Once we have the answer, we can multiply the new decimal by 100 to get the percentage:
0.724 × 100 = 72.414
As you can see, we get the same answer as the first method and find that 42/58 as a percentage is 72.414%.
Now you know of two different ways to convert 42/58 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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