1/20 = 5%
The fraction 1/20, or 5%, shows up in everyday life in small discounts, sales taxes, tips, and survey results. For example, a store might mark an item down by 5%, or a teacher might say that 1 out of every 20 students chose a certain answer.
To picture 1/20 quickly, imagine a group divided into 20 equal parts, with only one part shaded. It is a small amount—about one item in a group of twenty—so you can estimate it as just a thin slice of the whole.
A common mistake is thinking that 5% means 5 out of 10 rather than 5 out of 100. It is also easy to confuse 1/20 with 1/2, but 1/20 is much smaller because the whole is split into twenty equal parts.
