What is meant by a percentage?

• A. A ratio expressed as a decimal.
• B. A part of a total measured in degrees.
• C. Fraction having 100 as the denominator. For example: 65% = 65/100.
• D. A proportion expressed as a decimal.

Answer: (C)

Percent expresses a quantity as parts per hundred. It is a fraction with 100 in the denominator, so a percentage is the number of parts out of 100. For example, 65% equals 65/100, which is 0.65 when written as a decimal. This base-100 form is what makes percentages a convenient way to compare portions of a whole.

The other descriptions mix up the idea. A ratio expressed as a decimal describes the decimal form after conversion, not the defining 100-denominator structure. Degrees measure angles, not portions of a whole. A decimal proportion describes the decimal form of a ratio, again not the standard base-100 fraction that defines a percentage.