What is the Percentage Formula?

• A. (Part ÷ Total) × 100
• B. (Total ÷ Part) × 100
• C. Part × Total
• D. Part plus Total

Answer: (A)

This is about expressing a portion of a whole as a percentage. To turn a part into a percentage, you divide the part by the total and multiply by 100. The division gives the fraction of the whole that the part represents, and multiplying by 100 converts that fraction into a percent. For example, if you have a part of 25 out of a total of 200, (25 ÷ 200) × 100 = 12.5%.

The other forms don’t express a portion as a percentage: dividing the total by the part tells you how many parts fit into the part, not what percent of the total the part represents; multiplying the two numbers or adding them yields a product or sum, not a percentage. So the correct formula is part divided by total, times 100.