Question

Alright I really need some help understanding percentages so lease use relatively easy terms!

Solve for B.
6% of B = 78

Answer 1

When you see a percent sign, think divide by 100 and replace the percent sign with divide by 100. In your problem you would say 6 divided by 100.

If you like working with decimals, grab your calculator and enter the number 6, press the divide key, enter the number 100, press the equal key. You should get the decimal number .06 on your calculator.

If you like fractions, you could write 6 divided by 100 as 6/100. The fraction bar is just another way to represent division.

A quick way to change a percent to a decimal is to simply move the decimal point to the left two positions. So 6. becomes .06.

Note that most of the time the decimal point for whole numbers is not shown. However it is there, and we show it when we need it.

Now that you have gotten rid of the percent sign, the word "of" in the equation simply tells you to multiply.

So your equation now becomes this if you like decimals: .06*B = 78 or it becomes this if you like fractions: 6/100 * B = 78