Find one-half percent of $280.

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:

The correct answer is $1.40.

To find the solution, we must first correctly interpret the phrase “one-half percent.” This is not the same as 50 percent, which would be half of the total amount. Instead, “one-half percent” means half of a single percent. This can be expressed numerically as 0.5% or as the fraction 1/2 %. Understanding this distinction is the most critical part of solving the problem correctly.

There are a couple of straightforward methods to calculate this value.

Method 1: The Two-Step Approach

A very intuitive way to solve this is to first determine the value of one percent of the total and then take half of that result.

1. Calculate one percent of $280. The word “percent” literally means “per hundred.” Therefore, to find one percent of any number, you simply divide that number by 100.
   $280 ÷ 100 = $2.80
   So, one percent of $280 is two dollars and eighty cents.
2. Calculate half of that amount. Since the problem asks for one-half percent, we now take the value of one percent ($2.80) and divide it by two.
   $2.80 ÷ 2 = $1.40
   This calculation gives us the final answer.

Method 2: The Decimal Conversion Approach

Another common and direct method is to convert the percentage into its decimal form before performing the multiplication.

1. Convert one-half percent (0.5%) to a decimal. To convert any percentage to a decimal, you must divide it by 100. This is equivalent to moving the decimal point two places to the left.
   0.5% = 0.5 ÷ 100 = 0.005
   It is important to be careful with this conversion. A common mistake is to incorrectly use 0.5, which actually represents 50%. The correct decimal for one-half percent is 0.005.
2. Multiply the decimal by the total amount. Now, you multiply this decimal by the original number, which is $280. The word “of” in mathematics typically signifies multiplication.
   0.005 × $280 = $1.40

Both methods lead to the same result. The calculation shows that one-half percent is a very small fraction of the whole. Thus, one-half percent of 

280is∗∗280is∗∗

1.40**.