Predict the result
In the supplied quiz example, fourteen of twenty eight responses are A.
Will A represent less than, exactly, or more than half?

Set up the model
Read the source frequency table: A has fourteen, B four, C six, D zero, and E four.
A proportion compares one category frequency with the total frequency.

Work the example
Add every category frequency to get the denominator.
Fourteen plus four plus six plus zero plus four equals twenty eight.
For response A, divide fourteen by twenty eight.
Fourteen over twenty eight equals one half, or zero point five, or fifty percent.

Check the result
Use the same lesson's majors table. Biology has six students.
The other category counts are one, three, two and four.
What percentage is Biology? Pause to calculate before checking.
[Eight-second silent pause to work; the answer remains hidden.]
Add six plus one plus three plus two plus four to get sixteen students.
The Biology proportion is six over sixteen.
Six over sixteen equals thirty seven point five percent.

Interpret the result
Exactly half of these twenty eight quiz responses are A.
Percentages describe parts of the supplied total. They do not establish percentages for a broader population.
A frequency table and a chart can show the same categories, but the total still matters for each percent.