Explanation
In this example, the goal is to answer the question “What percentage of students were absent from each class”. In other words, given a class with 30 students total, 27 of which were present, we want to return 10% absent. The general formula for this calculation, where “x” is the percent absent is:
x=absent/total
However, since we don’t have a column for the number of students absent in the table, we need to calculate this number as part of the formula:
x=(total-attended)/total
x=(30-27)/30
x=3/30
x=0.10
After we convert this to an Excel formula with cell references, the formula in E5 becomes:
=(C5-D5)/C5
=(30-27)/30
=3/30
=0.10
As the formula is copied down, the formula returns the calculated “percent absent” for each class listed in the table. These results are decimal numbers formatted with the Percentage number format .
Formatting percentages in Excel
In mathematics, a percentage is a number expressed as a fraction of 100. For example, 55% is read as “Fifty-five percent” and is equivalent to 55/100 or 0.55. To display values with a percent sign (%), apply Percentage number format .
Explanation
In this example, the goal is to calculate the percentage sold for each item listed in the table, where original number (Total) is in column C and the Sold number is in column D. In other words, if we know we started with 144 apples, and sold 108 apples, we want to calculate that 75% of the apples were sold. The general formula for this calculation, where “x” is the percentage sold, is:
x=total/sold
x=144/108
x=0.75
Converting this to an Excel formula with cell references, the formula in E5 becomes:
=C5/D5
=144/108
=0.75
When the result the Percentage number format is applied, 0.75 is displayed as 75%. As the formula is copied down, the formula returns percentage sold for item in the table.
Formatting percentages in Excel
In mathematics, a percentage is a number expressed as a fraction of 100. For example, 45% is read as “Forty-five percent” and is equivalent to 45/100 or 0.45. Accordingly, the results in column E are decimal values , with the Percentage number format applied.
