How to Convert a Fraction to a Percent

Retailers often describe price changes with percentages.

Fractions and percentages are two ways of expressing a portion of a larger whole. A fraction specifies the number of parts in a quantity out of the number of parts in a whole. The fraction 3/5, for example, describes three parts of a quantity out of a whole of five parts. A percentage also describes parts out of a whole, but it scales the whole up to 100. The fraction three-fifths is equal to 60 percent, which is the fraction sixty-hundredths. This is calculated by a simple division equation.

Instructions

1. Divide the fraction's numerator by its denominator. For example, if you are converting a fraction of 4/7 you would divide four by nine to get 0.571428571.

2. Multiply this answer by 100. Therefore you would multiply 0.571428571 by 100 to get 57.1428571.

3. Round the result to the nearest whole number. So 57.1428571 is approximately equivalent to 57 percent.

References

• Union County College: Decimal, Percent, Fraction, Ratio Equivalent
• College of the Sequoias: Ratio, Proportion and Percent

Resources

• West Texas A&M University; Percent and Problem Solving; Kim Seward; July 2003
• University of Delaware: Ratios, Proportions, Percentages and Rates