Mathematics behind Percentage Calculation (2002/XP)

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I’m having trouble with calculating percentages. In the attached spreadsheet I am expecting a result of 97.2 in column B. Row 1 has the formula I’m using that returns 97.0. Row two has what I was expecting, based on my rudimentary mathematical skill. I have a feeling there is a reason Excel is returning the smaller result, but I don’t understand the math behind it. Can someone explain or show me how to achieve the higher number? Thank you.

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If you mean why are you getting 97.0% instead of 97.2%, it’s because the 16.2 in row 1 is rounded up. The actual number is 16.1671% and if you used 16.1671 in row 2 you would get the same answer.

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You are getting a different answer because you are working with two different numbers. expand the columns C and D and format the cells to show say 10 decimal places.

To get the same answer you should use the Round function. In the case of your formula the top one should be =Round(A1/B1,3).

Regards,

Tom Duthie

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Thank you Rory and Tom. The Round function did the trick.

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