· Grade 6 lesson · 2 min read
Lesson: Finding a Percent of a Number (Grade 6)
Percent means "out of 100". 30% means 30 out of every 100.
See it
This big square has 100 small squares. 30 are colored. That's 30%.
Easy percents
Some percents are friendly fractions. Learn these and you can do lots in your head.
| Percent | Same as | How to find it |
|---|---|---|
| 100% | all of it | the whole number |
| 50% | half | divide by 2 |
| 25% | a quarter | divide by 4 |
| 10% | a tenth | divide by 10 |
50% of 80 = 80 ÷ 2 = 40
25% of 80 = 80 ÷ 4 = 20
10% of 70 = 70 ÷ 10 = 7
The 10% trick
10% is the easiest. Then build other percents from it.
For the number 70:
- 10% = 7
- 20% = 7 + 7 = 14
- 5% = half of 7 = 3.5
- 30% = 7 + 7 + 7 = 21
Shopping: 25% off
A jacket costs $40. It is 25% off. What do you pay?
- 25% of $40 = $40 ÷ 4 = $10. That's what you save.
- $40 − $10 = $30. That's what you pay.
Remember
A percent is always a part of something. 50% of 10 is only 5, but 50% of 1,000 is 500!
Practice
Use the Percent of a Number worksheets. Then try Finding What Percent One Number Is of Another.