Simple formulas can help you find the percentage of a total such as the percentage difference between two numbers.
Find the percentage of a total
Let's say that you answered 42 questions out of 50 correctly on a test. What is the percentage of correct answers?
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Select any blank cell.
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Type =42/50, and then press RETURN .
The result is 0.84.
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Select the cell that contains the result from step 2.
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On the Home tab, select
The result is 84.00%, which is the percentage of correct answers on the test.
: To change the number of decimal places that appear in the result, select Increase Decimal
Find the percentage of change between two numbers
In this example, your earnings are $2,342 in November and $2,500 in December. What is the percentage of change in your earnings between these two months? Then, if your earnings are $2,425 in January, what is the percentage of change in your earnings between December and January? You can calculate the difference by subtracting your new earnings from your original earnings, and then dividing the result by your original earnings.
Calculate a percentage of increase
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Select any blank cell.
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Type =(2500-2342)/2342, and then press RETURN .
The result is 0.06746.
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Select the cell that contains the result from step 2.
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On the Home tab, select
The result is 6.75%, which is the percentage of increase in earnings.
: To change the number of decimal places that appear in the result, select Increase Decimal
Calculate a percentage of decrease
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Select any blank cell.
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Type =(2425-2500)/2500, and then press RETURN .
The result is -0.03000.
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Select the cell that contains the result from step 2.
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On the Home tab, select
The result is -3.00%, which is the percentage of decrease in earnings.
: To change the number of decimal places that appear in the result, select Increase Decimal
Find the total when you know the amount and percentage
Let's say that the sale price of a shirt is $15, which is 25% off the original price. What is the original price? In this example, you want to find 75% of which number equals 15.
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Select any blank cell.
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Type =15/0.75, and then press RETURN .
The result is 20.
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Select the cell that contains the result from step 2.
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On the Home tab, select
The result is $20.00, which is the original price of the shirt.
: To change the number of decimal places that appear in the result, select Increase Decimal
Find an amount when you know the total and percentage
You want to purchase a computer for $800 and must pay an additional 8.9% in sales tax. How much do you have to pay for the sales tax? In this example, you want to find 8.9% of 800.
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Select any blank cell.
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Type =800*0.089, and then press RETURN.
The result is 71.2.
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Select the cell that contains the result from step 2.
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On the Home tab, select
The result is $71.20, which is the sales tax amount for the computer.
: To change the number of decimal places that appear in the result, select Increase Decimal
Increase or decrease a number by a percentage
Consider the following. You spend an average of $113 on food each week, and you want to increase your weekly food expenditures by 25%. How much can you spend? Or, if you want to decrease your weekly food allowance of $113 by 25%, what is your new weekly allowance?
Increase a number by a percentage
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Select any blank cell.
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Type =113*(1+0.25), and then press RETURN .
The result is 141.25.
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Select the cell that contains the result from step 2.
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On the Home tab, select
The result is $141.25, which is a 25% increase in weekly food expenditures.
: To change the number of decimal places that appear in the result, select Increase Decimal
Decrease a number by a percentage
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Select any blank cell.
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Type =113*(1-0.25), and then press RETURN .
The result is 84.75.
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Select the cell that contains the result from step 2.
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On the Home tab, select
The result is $84.75, which is a 25% reduction in weekly food expenditures.
: To change the number of decimal places that appear in the result, select Increase Decimal
