A calculator helps find the difference between two numbers.
The percentage difference or change between two numbers expresses the significance of the change rather than just the numerical difference. For example, a decrease of four minutes in the time it takes to run a marathon race is more significant for an elite runner who runs the marathon in under 2.5 hours than it is for a casual runner who completes the marathon in five hours. A percent change is used when you want to find how the second number has increased or decreased relative to the original amount, such as when you measure the increase or decrease of a person's weight, whereas a percentage difference is used when neither number carries more weight, such as comparing the weight of two people.
Instructions
Percentage Change
1. Subtract the first number from the second number. For example, if you want to find the percentage difference between 40 and 36, subtract 40 from 36 to get -4.
2. Divide the result by the first number. In this example, divide -4 by 40 to get -0.1.
3. Multiply the result by 100 to convert to a percent change. Completing this example, multiply -0.1 by 100 to get -10 percent, or a 10 percent decrease.
Percentage Difference
4. Add the two numbers together and divide the result by 2 to calculate the average of the two numbers. For example, if your two numbers are 36 and 40, add 36 and 40 to get 76 and divide 76 by two to find the average equals 38.
5. Subtract the first number from the second number to find the difference between the two numbers. In this example, subtract 36 from 40 to get 4.
6. Divide the difference by the average and multiply the result by 100 to find the percentage difference. In this example, divide 4 by 38 and multiply the result by 100 to find the percentage difference equals 10.53 percent.
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