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

Answer:

As a decimal: $0.003$

As a fraction: $\frac{3}{1000}$

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

Step-by-step 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:

$\frac{0.3}{100}$

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:

$\frac{0.3*10}{100*10}=\frac{3}{1000}$

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

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