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Understanding how to convert percentages to decimals is a critical skill that forms the foundation of most percentage calculations. In essence, a percentage represents a fraction with a denominator of 100. To convert a percentage into a decimal, you divide it by 100. This is synonymous with simply moving the decimal point two places to the left.

For example, to convert 45% to a decimal, take the number 45 and divide it by 100, which gives us 0.45. It's as simple as that. There's no need for complex mathematics – remembering this small step can take you a long way!

• Remember: To convert a percentage to a decimal, divide by 100.
• Example: 75% becomes 0.75, 20% becomes 0.20, and so on.

Once you have converted your percentage to a decimal, the next step is often to use this decimal in a multiplication problem. Multiplication with decimals follows the same basic principles as multiplication with whole numbers, but it's important to keep track of where the decimal point goes in the answer.

Take the decimal and multiply it as if it were a whole number. After the multiplication, count the total number of digits to the right of the decimal points in the numbers you are multiplying. The answer should have the same number of digits to the right of its decimal point. In our example, multiplying 0.45 (two digits to the right of the decimal) by 90 (no digits to the right of the decimal) results in 40.5.

• Tip: Line up the numbers by the right-most digit before multiplying, ignoring the decimal points momentarily, and then insert the decimal in the answer afterwards.
• Example: When multiplying 0.5 (one digit right) by 3 (no digits right), we get 1.5 with one digit to the right of the decimal.

Percentage word problems often involve finding a part of a whole or comparing changes in numbers in terms of percent. The key to solving these problems is translating the language of the problem into a mathematical equation involving percentages.

Let's consider our example problem: What number is 45% of 90? We can see that we are being asked to find a portion (45%) of another number (90). By converting our percentage to a decimal and then multiplying, we determine the result to be 40.5. The word 'of' typically indicates multiplication in mathematics.

• Strategy: Identify the 'part', the 'whole', and the 'percentage' in the problem and translate them into a mathematical expression.
• Example: Finding 20% of 200 involves converting 20% to 0.20 and multiplying it by 200, resulting in 40.