Calculating the Percentage
Calculating the percentage is a simple mathematical procedure. To find out what percent of a number is another number, divide the second number by the first and then multiply by 100. In this case, we are trying to figure out what percent of 40 is 5. So, we divide 5 by 40 and then multiply by 100. This gives us an answer of 12.5%.
To double-check our answer, we can also try to figure out what number would result if we multiplied 12.5% by 40. To do this, first convert 12.5% into its decimal form by dividing by 100: 0.125. Then, multiply 0.125 times 40 to get 5 again – which confirms our answer.
In general, calculating percentages is a straightforward process that can be done with any two numbers – provided you know the formula and the conversion from percent to its decimal form for double-checking your answer!
