Percents & Fractional Relationships

KWF

Junior Member
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Feb 19, 2010
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204
Hello:

What does the following indicate?

A percent is another way of expressing the ratio or fractional relationship of two numbers.
 
Hello:

What does the following indicate?

A percent is another way of expressing the ratio or fractional relationship of two numbers.
Let's say that there are 208 cars in a parking lot, and 52 of them are blue.

If I told you that there were 52 blue cars, you would have no idea whather, compared to all the cars, that was a lot or not. A ratio tells you that

\(\displaystyle \dfrac{52\ blue\ cars}{208\ all\ cars} = one\ blue\ car\ for\ every\ four\ cars.\)

The fraction is a ratio that tells you what proportion of the cars are blue relative to all the cars.

A percent is just a ratio relative to one hundred. Percent comes from a Latin phrase meaning "for every hundred." So in our example, there would be 25 blue cars for every hundred cars, or 25%.

Does that help?
 
Let's say that there are 208 cars in a parking lot, and 52 of them are blue.

If I told you that there were 52 blue cars, you would have no idea whether, compared to all the cars, that was a lot or not. A ratio tells you that

\(\displaystyle \dfrac{52\ blue\ cars}{208\ all\ cars} = one\ blue\ car\ for\ every\ four\ cars.\)

The fraction is a ratio that tells you what proportion of the cars are blue relative to all the cars.

A percent is just a ratio relative to one hundred. Percent comes from a Latin phrase meaning "for every hundred." So in our example, there would be 25 blue cars for every hundred cars, or 25%.

Does that help?

Thanks JeffM for the reply and information!

If I understand correctly, a percent is another way of expressing a ratio (25 to 100) or fractional relationship (25/100 ) of two numbers (52 and 208).

Is this correct?
 
Thanks JeffM for the reply and information!

If I understand correctly, a percent is another way of expressing a ratio (25 to 100) or fractional relationship (25/100 ) of two numbers (52 and 208).

Is this correct?
You have it
 
You have it.

After thinking about this, I thought that possibly the following may be correct as well: a percent is another way of expressing a ratio (52 to 208) or fractional relationship (52/208 ) of two numbers (52 and 208). I do not know which one is more accurate.

If it is expressed as the following:

25% expresses the ratio (52 to 208) or fractional relationship (52/208) of two numbers (52 and 208).

Or is 25% expresses the ratio (25:100) or fractional relationship (25/100) of two numbers (25 and 100).

Or is 25% expresses the ratio (25:100) or fractional relationship (25/100) of two numbers (52 and 208).

Or is 25% expresses the ratio (52 to 208) or fractional relationship (52/208) of two numbers (25 and 100).

Which one is more accurate?
 
After thinking about this, I thought that possibly the following may be correct as well: a percent is another way of expressing a ratio (52 to 208) or fractional relationship (52/208 ) of two numbers (52 and 208). I do not know which one is more accurate.

If it is expressed as the following:

25% expresses the ratio (52 to 208) or fractional relationship (52/208) of two numbers (52 and 208).

Ratio and proportion are frequent mathematical synonyms for what you are calling fractional relationship. So the statement above is true, but redundant as well as radically incomplete because 25% equals an infinite number of ratios, not just 52/208.

Or is 25% expresses the ratio (25:100) or fractional relationship (25/100) of two numbers (25 and 100). Same thing.

Or is 25% expresses the ratio (25:100) or fractional relationship (25/100) of two numbers (52 and 208).

The statement above is, I think, just wrong 25/100 is not the same as 52/208 although they are equal. Would you rather have a 25% interest in a bank account containing $208 or a bank account containing $100.

Or is 25% expresses the ratio (52 to 208) or fractional relationship (52/208) of two numbers (25 and 100).

This is weird but maybe close.

Which one is more accurate?
Here is my try

25% is a common way to express any ratio or proportion that can be equated to the fraction 25/100.

Let's see what others have to say.
 
Here is my try
25% is a common way to express any ratio or proportion that can be equated to the fraction 25/100.
Let's see what others have to say.


Let's look at this webpage.

Percent is a concept from Latin. It means per 100, per centum in Latin means 'out of 100'.
 
Multiplying or Dividing a recipe

I can figure out what 1/4 and 1/2 of the ingredients are when it's a recipe for 6 people
But, what about if I have to increase the recipe to serve 8 people. Not sure:eek:
 
I can figure out what 1/4 and 1/2 of the ingredients are when it's a recipe for 6 people
But, what about if I have to increase the recipe to serve 8 people. Not sure:eek:

Multiply all the ingredients by 4/3.
 
Percent, Decimal, Fraction, Ratio

A percent can be written as a decimal, which is a fraction, which is a ratio, which is a rational number in the form a/b where b cannot be zero since division by zero does not exist. It's all one big happy family of numbers.
 
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