Originally Posted by Nyaanyaa
Originally Posted by blackcat
Obviously a parent or teacher would explain why/how it works, and what a percentage is, rather than just the mechanics. That really wasn't my point. The point is learning the terminology. OF means multiply when you are dealing with a fraction (and yes, I realize that you don't necessarily need to rewrite as a decimal, you can rewrite as a fraction. My point is that it needs to be rewritten. You can't multiply it when it's written as a percent).
You can multiply it when it's written as a percent—that is, as 12%.

You cannot write 12% as 12.

I don't nitpick. I point out a mistake that if taught to ConnectingDots's son (or anyone, for that matter) would teach something wrong.

Isn't that what I just said? You can't write 12 percent as 12? You have to rewrite it as a decimal or fraction before you can do the computation. If you were going to solve this using a calculator, you would have to type in .12 X 20. So then how you would YOU explain to the kid how you find 12 percent of 20? Since you are apparently a math master and expert teacher, why don't you write it out step by step for the OP's son, so that he can understand how to solve that or similar problems. (and now I'm refraining from discussing anything having to do with mathematics as long as people like this are on the forum--Geez).