Fractions as decimals and percentages
Pick a fraction to see it as a decimal and a percentage, worked out step by step, or turn a decimal or percentage back into a fraction.
Fractions, decimals and percentages chart
Every fraction here is in its simplest form. Tap a decimal or a percentage to see how it is worked out. A dot over a digit means it repeats for ever.
Not in its simplest form?
A fraction like 2/4 has no page of its own, because it is the same as 1/2. Find yours here and go to its simplest form.
Decimals as fractions
Percentages as fractions
How the conversions work
A fraction is a division: 3/8 means 3 ÷ 8. Dividing the top by the bottom always gives the decimal, and multiplying the decimal by 100 gives the percentage.
When the bottom goes exactly into 10, 100, 1,000 or 10,000, there is a quicker way that 11+ questions reward: make an equivalent fraction with that bottom. 2/5 = 40/100, so it is 0.4 and 40%. That works for halves, quarters, fifths, eighths, tenths, sixteenths, twentieths, twenty-fifths, fiftieths and hundredths.
When the bottom of a fraction in its simplest form has a prime factor other than 2 or 5, such as 3, 7 or 11, the division never ends and the decimal recurs: 1/3 = 0.3, where the 3 repeats for ever and 1/7 = 0.142857, where the group 142857 repeats for ever. The dot goes over a single repeating digit, or over the first and last digits of a repeating group.
Try the fraction wall
Tap a piece to shade a fraction, then look straight down: every row that ends in exactly the same place shows an equivalent fraction.
A fraction wall from halves to tenths. Shade a fraction and look straight down to find the equivalent fractions.
Questions parents ask
How do you turn a fraction into a decimal?
Divide the top by the bottom. 3/8 is 3 ÷ 8 = 0.375. When the bottom goes exactly into 10, 100 or 1,000, you can instead make an equivalent fraction with that bottom: 3/8 = 375/1,000 = 0.375.
How do you turn a fraction into a percentage?
Per cent means out of 100. If you can make the bottom 100, the top is the percentage: 2/5 = 40/100 = 40%. Otherwise, find the decimal and multiply by 100: 3/8 = 0.375 = 37.5%.
What is a recurring decimal?
A decimal that never stops, because the same digit or group of digits repeats for ever. 1/3 = 0.333... and 1/7 = 0.142857142857.... In books a dot is written over the repeating digit, or over the first and last digits of a repeating group.
Why is 2/4 not on the list?
2/4 is the same as 1/2: divide the top and bottom by 2. Each fraction appears once, in its simplest form, and its page lists the other fractions that are equal to it.
Fractions, decimals and percentages run all through 11+ maths
Converting between them turns up in 11+ questions on percentages, ratio, money and data. The free diagnostic checks maths, English and both kinds of reasoning, and shows what to practise next. No card is required.