Final answer:
A percentage is a proportional measure where a part of a whole is expressed as a part out of 100, hence the correct answer to the question is 'Proportional; whole'. This forms the basis for calculating percents and understanding proportions.
Step-by-step explanation:
A percentage is a proportional measure of a total set, where x (the proportion) of y (the whole) is expressed as 1 part in 100. Therefore, the correct answer is b. Proportional; whole. When we are working with percentages, we are dealing with a specific kind of fraction; specifically, a fraction with 100 as the denominator. For example, if we have a number 25 and want to express it as a percentage of 100, it would be written as 25%. This means that the number 25 constitutes 25 out of 100 parts of a total.
When calculating percents, we typically take a part (the actual number of interest) and divide it by the total, and then multiply by 100 to express it as a percentage. In mathematical terms, if 'part' is represented as 'p' and 'total' is represented as 't', the percentage is calculated as (p/t) × 100.
A proportion is when we say that two ratios are equivalent - for instance, the statement 1/2 = 3/6 is a proportion because both fractions represent the same relative amount.