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Percentages are a common way to express numbers in relation to 100. When we talk about a percentage, we're essentially discussing how much of something there is out of 100 units. For instance, when we say 50%, we mean 50 out of 100 or half of something.

A percentage helps in comparing proportions and can be used in various contexts, such as discounts, statistics, and growth rates. In this exercise, the percentage given is 0.5%, which means 0.5 parts out of 100. This can often be easier to interpret when converted to a decimal, which we'll discuss in the next section. Always remember: a percentage is your way of scaling a number, so you compare it conveniently with other values.

Converting percentages to decimals is a handy trick to simplify calculations. To convert any percentage into a decimal, you divide it by 100. This is because 'percent' literally means 'per hundred.' So, when you are converting 0.5% into a decimal, you compute it as follows:

- Divide 0.5 by 100.
- This gives you 0.005.

Decimal conversion is particularly useful when performing mathematical operations like multiplication or division. By converting to decimals, you maintain consistency in your calculations. It removes the extra complexity of handling percentages directly, making arithmetic operations straightforward.

Calculations become simpler when using decimals instead of percentages. After converting 0.5% into the decimal 0.005, we can find what 0.5% of 250 is by simply multiplying 250 by the decimal.

Here's how you do it:

• Take the number 250.
• Multiply by the decimal form of the percentage, which is 0.005.
• The calculation will be: \[ 250 \times 0.005 = 1.25 \]

This result shows that 0.5% of 250 is 1.25. Such calculations are common in real-world situations, such as calculating interest, tax rates, or statistical data. By using decimals, you make these mathematical operations quick and error-free, enhancing your analytical efficiency.