Finding a Percent of a Number: Practice at Home, Grade 6

Percents appear everywhere: sales, tips, test scores. In Grade 6, children learn that a percent is a rate per 100 and find the percent of a quantity.

What your child is working on

• 50% is half, 25% is a quarter, 10% is one tenth.
• 20% is two 10%s. 15% is 10% plus half of 10%.
• To find 10% of 80, divide by 10: 8.

Try it at home

Next time a store has a sale, ask your child to work out the new price. A $40 jacket at 25% off: 25% of 40 is 10, so the sale price is $30. Check with 10%: that is $4, and 25% is two and a half of those, or $10.

Another game is the tip: for a $24 meal, 10% is $2.40 and 20% is $4.80.

Where children slip

Taking the percent as the answer when the question asks for the price after the discount. Underline whether the question wants the amount taken off or the amount left.

Practice online

The free Find 10%, 20%, 25% or 50% of a number page uses friendly percents first. More skills are on the Grade 6 skills list.