Question

James answered 14 items correctly on a 16-item quiz. what percent did he answer correctly?

Answer 1

To get your answer, divide 14 by 16.  Then, move the decimal place two places to the right and change it into a percentage. James scored about 86%.

Answer 2

So,

I like to simplify a fraction first.  This is what I do when I'm in a store trying to find the unit price.

$\frac{14}{16}$

Factor.
$\frac{2*7}{2*2*2*2}$

Cross out ones.
$\frac{7}{2*2*2}$

Multiply it out.
$\frac{7}{8}$

In my head, I remember that one-eighth is equal to 0.125.

So seven-eighths is equal to 0.125 times 7.
0.125 * 7 = 0.875

Convert to percent form.
0.875 --> 87.5%

James answered 87.5% of his quiz correctly.

I actually have the decimal equivalents for eighths in my head when I'm shopping.  So once I get seven-eighths, I immediately know how much that is.  I can also subtract 0.125 from 1.000 to get seven-eighths.