30/1200 = 2.5%
The fraction 30/1200, or 2.5%, can show up in everyday situations such as a store discount, a small service fee, or the percentage of items in a batch that have a minor defect. It represents a relatively small part of a much larger total.
To picture 2.5% quickly, think of 25 out of every 1,000 items, or about 1 out of every 40. It is more than 1% but far less than 5%, so it should look like a thin slice of the whole.
A common mistake is thinking that 30/1200 is close to 30% because the numerator is 30. The denominator matters just as much: 30 is small compared with 1,200, which is why the percentage is only 2.5%.
