Percentages

"Per cent" means "out of 100". Percentages are everywhere: sale signs, test results, phone batteries, footy statistics and the weather forecast. In this topic you'll learn to move between fractions, decimals and percentages, compare them, and work out percentages of real amounts, with and without a calculator. These skills are some of the most useful you will learn for everyday life, especially with money.

What you'll learn

• 6.01 Fractions, decimals and percentages: what a percentage means, and changing between fractions, decimals and percentages.
• 6.02 Compare percentages: putting percentages, fractions and decimals in order by writing them in the same form.
• 6.03 Express a quantity as a percentage: writing one amount as a percentage of another, such as a test score or part of a group.
• 6.04 Percentages of a quantity: finding a percentage of an amount, discounts, and increasing or decreasing by a percentage.
• 6.05 Percentages with technology: using a calculator and spreadsheets for harder percentage problems, rounding money to the nearest cent, and checking with an estimate.

Which level should I pick?

Every worksheet comes in three levels. Each one covers the same skills.

• Level 1 · Warm-up: simpler percentages and more help along the way. A good place to start.
• Level 2 · Core: the main worksheet for the lesson.
• Level 3 · Challenge: harder percentages and problems with more steps, for when the Core level feels easy.

Not sure? Start with Level 2. If the first few questions feel tricky, drop to Level 1. If you finish quickly and get them right, try Level 3. Download the worksheet, print it, and write your answers in the boxes.

Practice tests

When you've finished the lessons, try the three practice tests. Each one is like the real topic test: 45 minutes, 40 marks, a section without a calculator and a section with one. Write your working under each question, then copy your final answers onto the answer sheet on the last page, just like you will in the real test.