Good Example Of Critical Thinking On Percentage

The concept of percentage is one of the most applied concepts in mathematics. Various daily activities and endeavors are seen to display the benefits of application and usage of the concept of percentage. By definition, a percent is a simplification of the term “per 100” while percentage refers to the multiplication of the percent to the base number or value. For example, 50% of 100 is 50 per 100 (50/100) multiplied to 100 which is just 50.
Since a percent refers to the term “per 100”, it is convenient to convert a certain percent to its simpler fraction form. Again, the term “per 100” means to divide by 100. For example, the term 50% is just 50 divided by 100 which is exactly one-half. For instance, if certain goods and services have a student discount of 20%, it is simpler to use fractions. In this case, if a student wants to know how much is discounted in a product worth $50 if the student discount is 20%, then it is simpler to multiply the fraction form of 20%, which is one-fifth, to the base value. Therefore, the 20% student discount means that the discount is worth a fifth of the base value.
Another application of percentage is when it is used to express change. For example, a growth can be expressed as a percent, e.g. a growth of twice means 200%. Another type of this usage is when the invested or deposited money grows by a certain percent. Certain banks have percent as growth.
However, percentage can sometimes be used incorrectly. One example is when the base value is dependent on the previous value defined by some percentage. For instance, a deposited amount of money ($1000) grows every month with a rate of 4%. For the first month, the 4% applies to the initial value, however, on the next month, the 4% applies to the increased value from the first month. In this case, the money will become $1081.6 at the end of the second month. Another misconception is when a set of percentage applies to varying values. In this case, the average of all percent values will be useless because the percentage applies to varying values.