How to Find a Percentage of a Number

The Two-Step Method

To find a percentage of a number:
Step 1: Convert the percent to a decimal (divide by 100).
Step 2: Multiply that decimal by the number.

Percentage of a Number = (Percent ÷ 100) × Number

Worked Examples

Example 1: What is 20% of 150?

Convert: 20% ÷ 100 = 0.20

Multiply: 0.20 × 150 = 30

So 20% of 150 is 30.

Example 2: What is 8% of 250?

Convert: 8% ÷ 100 = 0.08

Multiply: 0.08 × 250 = 20

So 8% of 250 is 20.

Example 3: What is 150% of 60?

Convert: 150% ÷ 100 = 1.50

Multiply: 1.50 × 60 = 90

Percents over 100% give a result larger than the original number.

Why Does This Work?

"Percent" means "per hundred." So 20% means 20 per 100, which is the fraction 20/100, which equals 0.20. Multiplying by 0.20 gives you 20 hundredths of the number — exactly 20% of it.

💡 Quick Check: Your answer should be smaller than the original number when the percent is under 100%, and larger when it's over 100%. Use this to catch mistakes.

🎯 Practice Problems

1. What is 25% of 200?

A) 25

B) 50

C) 75

D) 100

2. What is 10% of 85?

A) 0.85

B) 8.5

C) 85

D) 10

3. A shirt costs $40. It's 15% off. How much is the discount?

A) $4.00

B) $15.00

C) $6.00

D) $8.00

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🎯 Bonus Practice

1. What is 50% of 90?

A) 50

B) 45

C) 40

D) 90

2. What is 5% of 300?

A) 5

B) 30

C) 15

D) 50

3. What is 200% of 35?

A) 35

B) 70

C) 200

D) 7000

4. A class has 30 students. 40% are boys. How many boys are in the class?

A) 4

B) 40

C) 12

D) 18

5. What is 75% of 120?

A) 75

B) 80

C) 90