Percent Drill — Play Free Online

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Percent Drill asks the question that comes up most often away from a desk: what is 15% of 60? Percentages are the arithmetic of tips, discounts, interest and statistics, and almost all of them collapse to a couple of easy steps once you stop reaching for a calculator. Sixty seconds, one percentage at a time, with the working shown whenever you miss one.

How to play

Choose easy percentages, awkward ones or reverse questions, then press Start.

Each question asks for a percentage of a number.

Type the answer; a correct one moves straight to the next question.

A miss shows the route — usually via 10% or 1%.

Your score is percentages answered correctly in the minute.

What it actually trains

Proportional reasoning done in steps rather than in one leap. Working out 35% by taking 10% three times and adding half of one of them is the habit that makes percentages quick, and it is what this drill builds.

Tips to score higher

Find 10% first — move the decimal point one place left. Everything else is built from that.

1% is 10% of 10%, which gives you the awkward figures: 17% is 10% + 5% + 2%.

Percentages commute: 8% of 50 is the same as 50% of 8, which is 4. Flipping the question often makes it trivial.

For a discount, work out what you pay rather than what you save — 30% off is 70% of the price, which is one step instead of two.

Frequently asked questions

What is the quickest way to find a percentage?

Start from 10%, which is the number with the decimal point moved one place left, then build up. 30% is three lots of 10%; 5% is half of 10%; 1% is a tenth of 10%.

How do I work out a percentage in reverse?

If 20 is 25% of a number, multiply by 4 to get 80. In general, divide by the percentage and multiply by 100.

Why does flipping a percentage work?

Because x% of y and y% of x are the same multiplication written in a different order. 8% of 50 and 50% of 8 both come to 4.

Are the answers always whole numbers?

In the easy and awkward levels, yes. The reverse level can produce answers with one decimal place, and the drill accepts a decimal point in your answer.