How do you take 3% off a number?

Taking 3% Off: The Quickest Way to Calculate Discounts

We’ve all been there: staring at a price tag, mentally wrestling with percentages to figure out the final cost after a discount. While grabbing a calculator might seem like the go-to solution, there’s a faster, more efficient method for deducting 3% – and it requires only basic multiplication.

Forget juggling multiple steps. Instead of calculating 3% of the original number and then subtracting it, you can achieve the same result with a single calculation: multiply the original number by 0.97.

Here’s why this works: Taking 3% off a number is the same as finding 97% of that number (100% – 3% = 97%). Converting 97% to a decimal gives us 0.97. Therefore, multiplying by 0.97 directly calculates the discounted amount.

Let’s illustrate with an example. Suppose you’re eyeing a sweater priced at $50. To calculate the price after a 3% discount:

• Traditional Method:

  1. Calculate 3% of $50: (3/100) * $50 = $1.50
  2. Subtract the discount from the original price: $50 – $1.50 = $48.50

• Quick Method:

  1. Multiply $50 by 0.97: $50 * 0.97 = $48.50

As you can see, both methods arrive at the same answer, but the multiplication method is significantly quicker and more streamlined. This technique is particularly useful for quick mental calculations or when you don’t have a calculator readily available.

This principle applies beyond just 3%. If you need to deduct any percentage, simply subtract that percentage from 100, convert the result to a decimal, and multiply. For example, to deduct 15%, multiply by 0.85 (100 – 15 = 85, then convert to 0.85).

So next time you encounter a discount, remember this simple trick. Multiplying by 0.97 (for a 3% discount) or the appropriate decimal equivalent will save you time and mental effort, allowing you to quickly determine the final price.