Intro to Percents
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Summary
A percent is a fraction per 100, so ACT percent questions depend on fluency with decimals, fractions, and place value. Mastering percent conversions and quick fraction-to-percent approximations makes common ACT problems much faster and more accurate.
- A percent means 'divided by 100,' so values like 37% and 0.03% can be rewritten as fractions and decimals by interpreting the percent sign directly.
- Converting percents to decimals requires moving the decimal point two places to the left, while converting decimals to percents requires moving it two places to the right, sometimes adding placeholder zeros.
- Converting percents to fractions is straightforward: place the percent value over 100 and simplify, as with 20% becoming 1/5 and 92% becoming 23/25.
- Converting fractions to percents usually works best by changing the fraction to a decimal first and then multiplying by 100, especially for familiar fractions or denominators like 100 and 1,000.
- Approximation is an essential ACT skill, so fractions such as 8/33 and 11/14 can be estimated as percents by rewriting them near equivalent fractions over 100.
- Strong comfort with decimal movement and fraction-decimal conversion is essential preparation, because percent work builds directly on those skills.
Chapters
00:00
What a Percent Means
01:17
Converting Between Percents and Decimals
02:38
Turning Fractions into Percents
04:07
Approximating Fractions as Percents