Sorry, this page is no longer available
Sorry, this page is no longer available
We may earn an affiliate commission when you visit our partners.
Course image
Saad Saleem

1 out of 10 people don’t understand percentages.

I’m part of that 15%.

ٰIf you don’t get this joke, you definitely need to take this course.

Hey there. This is your one-stop shop for Percentages. I have designed this course so that students of any age or level can take it and benefit from it. Whether you are a high school student or preparing for your SAT or GMAT or just want to improve your understanding of how percentages work, This course is 100% Guaranteed to help.

Read more

1 out of 10 people don’t understand percentages.

I’m part of that 15%.

ٰIf you don’t get this joke, you definitely need to take this course.

Hey there. This is your one-stop shop for Percentages. I have designed this course so that students of any age or level can take it and benefit from it. Whether you are a high school student or preparing for your SAT or GMAT or just want to improve your understanding of how percentages work, This course is 100% Guaranteed to help.

We start by learning how to convert decimal or fraction to percentage and vice versa, then we go up a level where we learn how to calculate percentages mentally with some amazing shortcuts to help you save those precious seconds in a test. Then we learn how to increase or decrease a number by a certain percent, reverse percentages and how percentage change can be calculated. Then in the third and final level is where all the magic happens because this is where we learn all the uses of percentages and how it is used in calculating discounts, taxes, profit/loss, interest etc etc.

Each lesson is kept short and to the point so that you can take it step by step instead of having to cram everything at once. At the end of every lecture there is an exercise and at the end of every section there is quiz to test you on all that you have learnt in the section.

Enroll now

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • You will learn how to convert decimal or fraction to percentage and vice versa
  • You will learn how to calculate a certain percentage of any value
  • Bonus: you will learn all the tricks that can be used to work out percentage in seconds. such as 10%, 20%, 50% and so on
  • You will learn how to increase or decrease any number by a certain percent
  • You will learn how to calculate percentage change
  • How percentage is used in calculating discounts, taxes, interest, commission etc etc
  • You will learn how to use percentages in real life which will help you make better decisions.

Syllabus

Convert Decimal and Fraction to Percentage and Vice Versa.

In this video, we will learn how to convert decimal to percentage.

Decimal to Percentage Exercise
Read more

In this video, we will learn how to convert Fraction to Percentage.

In this video, we will learn how to convert Percentage to Decimal.

In this video, we will learn how to convert a Percentage Value to a Fraction in its simplest form.

This quiz will test you on the concepts covered in Level 1

In this video, we will learn how Percentage of any value is calcuated.

Calculating Percentages in tests where Calculators aren't allowed can sometimes be very tricky and time consuming so in this video, I will teach you a shortcut to calculate percentage to help you save those precious seconds in any test.

In this video, we will learn what it means to increase a number by a certain Percent and the two methods with the help of which we can increase the given number.

In this video, we will learn how to solve backwards with percentages or more commonly known as how to do reverse percentages with the help of a couple of example questions. This concept is very often applied in real life situations that we will be covering in level 3.

In this video, we will learn how to figure out percentage change. Now this change can be increase or decrease, the way to do it, however, stays the same.

In this video, we will learn how to express one value as a percentage of another with the help of an amazing trick that will help you remember how to solve questions like these.

This quiz will test you on all the concepts covered in Level 2

This quiz will test you on all the concepts covered in Level 3

Traffic lights

Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Starts with converting decimals and fractions to percentages, which builds a strong foundation for understanding more complex percentage-related calculations
Includes shortcuts to calculate percentages mentally, which can help learners save time on tests like the SAT or GMAT where calculators may not be allowed
Explores real-world applications of percentages in calculating discounts, taxes, profit/loss, and interest, which are useful for making informed financial decisions
Features short, focused lessons and exercises at the end of each lecture, which allows learners to grasp concepts step by step and reinforce their understanding
Covers percentage change, reverse percentages, and expressing one value as a percentage of another, which are concepts applicable to various real-life scenarios
Includes practice exercises on discounts, taxes, profit/loss, simple interest, and compound interest, which may require learners to have access to additional financial tools

Save this course

Create your own learning path. Save this course to your list so you can find it easily later.
Save

Reviews summary

Clear, practical introduction to percentages

According to learners, Percentages for Beginners is a highly effective course, particularly recommended for those new to the topic. Students say the instructor provides clear, step-by-step explanations that simplify complex ideas. Many appreciate the inclusion of practical examples demonstrating how percentages are used in real-life situations such as calculating discounts, taxes, and interest. Reviewers also highlight the helpful calculation shortcuts and the effectiveness of the regular exercises and quizzes for reinforcing understanding. While providing a solid foundation for beginners, some reviewers noted it might be too basic if you have prior percentage knowledge or need advanced test prep.
Learn quick calculation tricks.
"The shortcuts are neat."
"The shortcuts taught were amazing."
Exercises and quizzes reinforce learning.
"The exercises after each video helped me practice."
"Quizzes reinforced what I learned."
"The bite-sized lessons and practice problems are effective."
Excellent starting point for novices.
"Excellent course for absolute beginners."
"Perfect for someone starting from scratch."
"Ideal for beginners looking for a solid start."
Covers useful everyday applications.
"The real-life examples like discounts and taxes were incredibly helpful."
"The practical applications section is very useful."
"Love the focus on real-life use cases."
Concepts explained clearly step-by-step.
"The instructor explains everything step by step, making complex ideas simple."
"Everything was explained clearly..."
"The instructor is clear and concise."
Might be too simple if you have prior knowledge.
"If you already know most of this from school, this will be very slow."
"Too basic for my needs."
"Not suitable if you're preparing for competitive exams..."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Percentages for Beginners with these activities:
Review Fractions and Decimals
Strengthen foundational knowledge of fractions and decimals to better understand percentage conversions.
Browse courses on Fractions
Show steps
  • Review the definitions of fractions and decimals.
  • Practice converting fractions to decimals and vice versa.
  • Work through practice problems involving fraction and decimal operations.
Read 'Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data'
Gain a broader understanding of statistics and data analysis to appreciate the significance of percentages in real-world contexts.
Show steps
  • Read the book, focusing on chapters related to descriptive statistics.
  • Take notes on key concepts and examples.
  • Reflect on how these concepts relate to the course material.
Mental Math Percentage Calculations
Improve mental math skills for quick percentage calculations, especially useful in tests without calculators.
Show steps
  • Practice calculating 10%, 20%, 50% of various numbers mentally.
  • Use shortcuts to calculate percentages quickly.
  • Time yourself to improve speed and accuracy.
Three other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all six activities
Create a Percentage Cheat Sheet
Compile a cheat sheet of percentage formulas, shortcuts, and real-world applications for quick reference.
Show steps
  • Gather all the percentage formulas and shortcuts from the course.
  • Organize the information in a clear and concise format.
  • Include examples of real-world applications for each concept.
  • Share the cheat sheet with peers for feedback.
Analyze Personal Spending with Percentages
Apply percentage concepts to analyze personal spending habits and identify areas for improvement.
Show steps
  • Track your spending for a month.
  • Categorize your expenses (e.g., food, transportation, entertainment).
  • Calculate the percentage of total spending for each category.
  • Identify areas where you can reduce spending.
Build a Discount Calculator
Develop a simple discount calculator using a programming language or spreadsheet software to practice percentage calculations.
Show steps
  • Choose a programming language or spreadsheet software.
  • Design the user interface for the calculator.
  • Implement the percentage calculation logic.
  • Test the calculator with various inputs.

Career center

Learners who complete Percentages for Beginners will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Business Teacher
Business teachers educate students on various business topics, including finance, accounting, and economics. They must have a strong grasp of percentages to teach these subjects effectively. The 'Percentages for Beginners' course provides a complete overview of percentage calculations, including real-world applications, which a business teacher could use to create engaging lesson plans. If you want to become a business teacher, this course is a great place to start.
Tax Preparer
Tax preparers assist individuals and businesses with filing their taxes. Their day-to-day tasks requires a solid understanding of percentages to accurately calculate deductions, credits, and tax liabilities. It is a job that rewards accuracy and reliability. The 'Percentages for Beginners' course covers tax calculations in detail, offering practical examples and exercises that will help equip you to excel as a tax preparer.
Accountant
An accountant analyzes financial information and prepares financial reports. Accuracy and attention to detail are paramount in this role. The 'Percentages for Beginners' course helps build a strong foundation in understanding and calculating percentages, a fundamental skill for accurate financial calculations. The course emphasizes practical application by demonstrating how percentages are used in calculating profit and loss. Since many accounting tasks involve percentage calculations, this course is very helpful.
Auditor
Auditors examine financial records to ensure accuracy and compliance with regulations. They often use percentages to analyze financial data, assess risk, and identify discrepancies. Attention to detail is paramount to being an auditor. The 'Percentages for Beginners' course teaches percentage change, which can be applied to auditing. This course is a great starting point for anyone interested in becoming an auditor.
Budget Analyst
Budget analysts are responsible for helping organizations plan and manage their finances. They develop budgets, monitor spending, and analyze financial data to make recommendations. This is a demanding job that can be made easier with the right skills, such as an understanding of percentages. Budgeting often involves calculating percentage increases, decreases, and allocations. The 'Percentages for Beginners' course covers a broad range of percentage applications, including percentage change calculations, that would be beneficial for any budget analyst.
Retail Manager
Retail managers oversee the daily operations of a retail store. Their work may involve managing inventory, handling customer service issues and calculating sales metrics. They must be comfortable with percentages to calculate profit margins, discounts, and sales tax. By teaching how to calculate discounts and taxes, the 'Percentages for Beginners' course provides the knowledge necessary to successfully manage a store's finances.
Financial Analyst
Financial analysts provide guidance to businesses and individuals making investment decisions. A firm grasp of mathematics, including percentages, is an important part of this work. Many of the calculations that a financial analyst will perform makes use of percentages. The 'Percentages for Beginners' course, by showing how percentages are applied to taxes and interest, will help anyone seeking to become a financial analyst.
Loan Officer
Loan officers evaluate and approve loan applications for individuals and businesses. They must be comfortable working with percentages to determine interest rates, repayment schedules, and assess risk. This course can help you better understand the principles behind loans. The 'Percentages for Beginners' course teaches students how to calculate interest, a core component of loan calculations. People in this role need to understand percentages to work with loans.
Purchasing Agent
Purchasing agents buy products and services for organizations. They must be able to negotiate prices, evaluate bids, and calculate discounts, requiring a solid understanding of percentages. A purchasing agent will likely find that the 'Percentages for Beginners' course's coverage of discounts to be immediately applicable to their work. This course helps build a foundation in percentage calculations, which is helpful when considering discounts.
Cost Estimator
Cost estimators collect and analyze data to estimate the time, money, materials, and labor required for construction projects, manufacturing products, or providing services. Estimating costs often involves calculating percentage markups, discounts, and profit margins. Cost estimators must be comfortable working with numbers. The 'Percentages for Beginners' course may be useful by providing a foundation in percentage calculations, which is helpful when considering costs.
Economist
Economists study the production and distribution of resources, goods, and services by collecting and analyzing data, researching trends, and evaluating economic issues. They often use percentages to analyze economic data, forecast trends, and model economic behavior, often pursuing advanced degrees to succeed. 'Percentages for Beginners' may be useful by providing a solid foundation in percentage calculations, which are fundamental to economic analysis.
Market Research Analyst
Market research analysts study market conditions to examine potential sales of a product or service. They identify and monitor competitors and research pricing. They frequently express market share, growth rates, and survey results as percentages. The 'Percentages for Beginners' course may be useful by providing the arithmetic skills to succeed in this role.
Real Estate Agent
A real estate agent assists clients in buying, selling, or renting properties. To excel, they must understand percentages to calculate commissions, property appreciation, and mortgage rates. The 'Percentages for Beginners' course may be useful by providing a refresher on these essential calculations. This course will also help you by increasing your speed when making these calculations, a very important aspect of working with clients under pressure.
Actuary
Actuaries assess financial risks and help design insurance policies, pension plans, and other financial strategies. They use mathematical models and statistical techniques to predict future events and their financial impact, often requiring advanced degrees. Actuaries frequently use percentages to calculate insurance premiums, investment returns, and mortality rates. 'Percentages for Beginners' may be useful by covering the foundational knowledge of percentages.
Statistician
Statisticians collect, analyze, and interpret numerical data. They apply statistical methodologies to solve problems in a variety of fields, often requiring advanced degrees. Analyzing data is a hallmark of this job. Statisticians frequently use percentages to summarize and present data which can be made easier with the 'Percentages for Beginners' course. The course provides a review of the mechanics of percentages.

Reading list

We've selected one books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Percentages for Beginners.
Provides an accessible and engaging introduction to statistics, including percentages. It explains statistical concepts in a clear and intuitive way, using real-world examples to illustrate their relevance. While not solely focused on percentages, it provides a broader context for understanding their use in data analysis. This book is more valuable as additional reading to provide context.

Share

Help others find this course page by sharing it with your friends and followers:

Similar courses

Similar courses are unavailable at this time. Please try again later.
Our mission

OpenCourser helps millions of learners each year. People visit us to learn workspace skills, ace their exams, and nurture their curiosity.

Our extensive catalog contains over 50,000 courses and twice as many books. Browse by search, by topic, or even by career interests. We'll match you to the right resources quickly.

Find this site helpful? Tell a friend about us.

Affiliate disclosure

We're supported by our community of learners. When you purchase or subscribe to courses and programs or purchase books, we may earn a commission from our partners.

Your purchases help us maintain our catalog and keep our servers humming without ads.

Thank you for supporting OpenCourser.

© 2016 - 2025 OpenCourser