How does one find the percent of a sum?

Answer 1

To find the percent of anything, you change the percent to a decimal, and multiply.

Finding the percent of a sum is no different.

ex:

10% of (30 + 100)

I can use the distributive property to take 10% of 30, then add 10% of 100.

.10(30 + 100) = .10*30 + .10*100 = 3 + 10 = 13

In order to see how this works, let's not distribute.

.10(30+100) and instead, add 30 +100 first, then take the percent.

.10(130) = 13

We get the same answer!

You can take the percent of the whole thing, or you can take the percent of the pieces that add up to the whole.