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5.5: Percents

  • Page ID
    232699
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    When you deposit money in a savings account at a bank, it earns additional money. Figuring out how your money will grow involves understanding and applying concepts of percents. In this chapter, we will find out what percents are and how we can use them to solve problems.

    • 5.5.1: Introduction to Percents
      This page explores the concept of percent, detailing its definition and practical applications. It includes problem-solving related to sales tax, commission, discounts, and simple interest. Proportions and their applications are also discussed, highlighting the importance of percents in finance, especially concerning interest on savings and loan payments.
    • 5.5.2: Understand Percent
      A percent is a ratio whose denominator is 100. Since percents are ratios, they can easily be expressed as fractions. Remember that percent means per 100, so the denominator of the fraction is 100. To convert a percent to a decimal, we first convert it to a fraction and then change the fraction to a decimal. To convert a decimal to a percent, remember that percent means per hundred. If we change the decimal to a fraction whose denominator is 100, it is easy to change that fraction to a percent.
    • 5.5.3: Solve General Applications of Percent
      We will solve percent equations by using the methods we used to solve equations with fractions or decimals. Many applications of percent occur in our daily lives, such as tips, sales tax, discount, and interest. To solve these applications we'll translate to a basic percent equation, just like those we solved in the previous examples in this section. Once you translate the sentence into a percent equation, you know how to solve it.
    • 5.5.4: Solve Proportions and their Applications
      A proportion states that two ratios or rates are equal. The proportion is read “a is to b, as c is to d”. If we compare quantities with units, we have to be sure we are comparing them in the right order. For any proportion of the form a/b = c/d, where b ≠ 0, d ≠ 0, its cross products are equal. So, cross products can be used to test whether a proportion is true. To find the cross products, we multiply each denominator with the opposite numerator (diagonally across the equal sign).
    • 5.5.5: Chapter Review
    • 5.5.6: Exercises

    Figure 6.1 - Banks provide money for savings and charge money for loans. The interest on savings and loans is usually given as a percent. (credit: Mike Mozart, Flickr)

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    This page titled 5.5: Percents is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by OpenStax.

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