Question

A baker makes 100 cakes out of which 35 are chocolate cakes. What percentage of cakes are chocolate cakes?

Answer 1

Hint: In the above question we are asked to calculate the percentage. But before that we should know what percentage means. Percentage in mathematics is a number or ratio that represents a fraction of 100. It is denoted by the symbol % or simply as “percent”. For example, 50% is equivalent to the decimal 0.50, or the fraction \[\dfrac{{35}}{{100}}\]. Percentages are often used to express a proportionate part of a total. This can also be viewed as; suppose you have 50% of male giraffes in a zoo. This implies that 50 out of every 100 giraffes are male. If there are 200 giraffes then 100 out of them will be male.
          The percent value is calculated by multiplying the numeric value of the ratio by 100. If we need to find 30 eggs as a percentage of 120 eggs, we must first find the ratio \[\dfrac{{30}}{{120}} = 0.25\], and then multiply it by 100 to obtain 25%.

Complete step by step solution:
To calculate the percentage, we need to know the total amount on which the % is to be determined. Here it is 100. First, we find the fraction:
       \[Fraction = \dfrac{{35}}{{100}} = 0.35\]
Next, we need to multiply the fraction by 100 to obtain the percentage:
      \[\dfrac{{35}}{{100}} \times 100 = 35\% \]or \[0.35 \times 100 = 35\% \]
Thus, the answer is 35% of the cakes are chocolate cakes.

Note: Students must be able to grasp the idea of how percentage is calculated. It is an important part of mathematics and will be used everywhere. Also, the calculations must be done carefully. You can perform it in one step instead of two steps when you get used to solving such questions.