Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS) Basic Math Placement Practice Test

How do you convert a fraction to a percentage?

1. Multiply the fraction by 100

2. Add the numerator and denominator

3. Divide the numerator by the denominator

4. Subtract the denominator from the numerator

The correct answer is: Multiply the fraction by 100

To convert a fraction to a percentage, the fundamental process involves multiplying the fraction by 100. This is because a percentage represents a part per hundred. When you take a fraction, think of its numerator (the top number) as representing parts of a whole that is defined by the denominator (the bottom number). By multiplying the fraction by 100, you scale that representation to reflect how many parts out of 100 are represented by the fraction. For example, if you have the fraction 3/4, you multiply 3/4 by 100 to get 75, which indicates that 3 out of 4 is equivalent to 75 out of 100, or 75%. The other choices do not correctly describe the method for converting a fraction to a percentage. Adding the numerator and denominator does not give any meaningful relationship to the value of the fraction. Dividing the numerator by the denominator simply gives the decimal value of the fraction, while subtracting the denominator from the numerator does not relate to percentage calculation in any way. Therefore, multiplying the fraction by 100 is the correct and effective method for obtaining the percentage.