eli5 The percentage rule

Question

Can someone explain how/why X% of Y is equal to Y% of X? I know it’s true but I can’t figure out why. Thanks!

In: 10

Answer 1

So many example here. Good, but I’ll try the armchair mathematician explanation as to the why since it seems that’s what you were really asking. The idea of a percent of something would indicate a value between 0 and 100 percent. We have a number 100, which is easy to factor in two directions while we use a base 10 number system. That’s why doing basic math with 10 and 100 is easy in either direction (multiply or divide to achieve a percent)

Answer 2

So many example here. Good, but I’ll try the armchair mathematician explanation as to the why since it seems that’s what you were really asking. The idea of a percent of something would indicate a value between 0 and 100 percent. We have a number 100, which is easy to factor in two directions while we use a base 10 number system. That’s why doing basic math with 10 and 100 is easy in either direction (multiply or divide to achieve a percent)