Question

In a recent year, the United States Census

Bureau reported that 0.3% of the population
in the United States was Japanese. Write
this percent as a decimal and as a fraction.
Then interpret its meaning as a ratio of the
United States population.

Answer 1

As a decimal:
`0.003`

As a fraction:
`(3)/(1000)`

The meaning as a ratio of the United State population is:
`3\ out\ of\ 1000\ people\ are\ japaneses`

Explanation:

You know that that the United States Census Bureau reported that 0.3% of the population in the United States was Japanese, then:

To write this percent as a decimal, you must divide it by 100 (which is the same as moving the decimal point two places to the left):

`0.3\%=0.003`

To write it as a fraction you must multiply 0.3% by 100:

`(0.3)/(100)`

Notice that the numerator has a decimal in terms of tenths. To change it to a whole number you can multiply the numerator and the denominator by 10. Then:

`(0.3*10)/(100*10)=(3)/(1000)`

Based on this, you can interpret the meaning as a ratio of the United State population. This is:

`3\ out\ of\ 1000\ people\ are\ japaneses`