Sumwise

What is 5 Percent of 42?

5% of 42 = 2.1

Result
2.1
Remaining
39.9
5% as decimal
0.05
42 + 5%
44.1

Sumwise · Checked by Theo Abbott · Data: exact arithmetic; unit definitions from NIST SP 811 · Updated · How we check it

How to work it out

  1. Turn the percentage into a decimal: 5 ÷ 100 = 0.05
  2. Multiply: 0.05 × 42 = 2.1
  3. Check: Work backwards: 2.1 ÷ 42 × 100 = 5%.

Another method. As a proportion of part to whole: 5/100 = part/42, so part = 5 × 42 ÷ 100 = 2.1. Both methods always give the same answer.

In a spreadsheet: =5%*42. Forgetting to divide the percentage by 100 makes the answer 100 times too big. Note that x% of y always equals y% of x.

What the result means

2.1 is the 5% share of 42. The remaining 95% is 39.9, and the two parts add back up to 42.

Discounts: 5% off an item priced $42 saves $2.1, so you pay $39.9.

Adding and taking away 5%

Increasing 42 by 5% gives 44.1 and decreasing it by 5% gives 39.9. These do not cancel out: raising 42 by 5% and then lowering the result by 5% ends at 41.895, because the second 5% is taken of a bigger number.

Related results

Results for nearby numbers
10% of 42

10% of 42 = 4.2

15% of 42

15% of 42 = 6.3

20% of 42

20% of 42 = 8.4

25% of 42

25% of 42 = 10.5

50% of 42

50% of 42 = 21

75% of 42

75% of 42 = 31.5

The other way round: 42% of 5

Practice

2% of 8
Show answer

2% of 8 = 0.16

57% of 57
Show answer

57% of 57 = 32.49

69% of 87
Show answer

69% of 87 = 60.03

13% of 36
Show answer

13% of 36 = 4.68

62% of 78
Show answer

62% of 78 = 48.36

13% of 2
Show answer

13% of 2 = 0.26

Calculate another

How answers are calculated and checked: methodology.

Questions

What is 5 Percent of 42?

5% of 42 is 2.1. Formula, steps and practice examples.

What is 5% off 42?

39.9. Taking 5% off leaves 95% of 42.

What is 42 plus 5%?

44.1. Adding 5% is the same as multiplying by 1.05.