What percentage is 15 out of 17?
The correct answer and explanation is:
To find what percentage 15 is out of 17, you divide 15 by 17 and then multiply the result by 100.
Step 1: Divide 15 by 17.
15 ÷ 17 ≈ 0.88235
Step 2: Multiply by 100 to convert to percentage.
0.88235 × 100 ≈ 88.235%
So, 15 out of 17 is approximately 88.24%.
Explanation
Percentages represent parts per hundred and are a way to express ratios or fractions in a standardized form. When asked what percentage one number is of another, the goal is to determine how large the first number is relative to the second, scaled to a base of 100.
The process begins by calculating the ratio between the two numbers, which is done by division. In this case, dividing 15 by 17 finds the fraction of 17 that corresponds to 15. The result is a decimal less than 1 because 15 is less than 17.
Multiplying this decimal by 100 changes the scale from a fraction to a percentage. This step effectively shifts the decimal point two places to the right, converting a fraction like 0.5 to 50%, meaning half.
Expressing numbers as percentages is useful in many fields such as finance, statistics, and everyday contexts because it allows for easy comparison and understanding of proportions. For example, knowing that 15 is about 88.24% of 17 quickly conveys that 15 is close to the full amount of 17 but slightly less.
Rounding is commonly applied when presenting percentages. Here, the result 88.235% is often rounded to two decimal places, giving 88.24%. In other situations, rounding to the nearest whole number might be used, yielding 88%.
This method applies generally for any numbers where you want to find the percentage relationship: divide the part by the whole, then multiply by 100. It is a fundamental concept in mathematics that helps express ratios clearly and concisely.