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I have a series of values that are percentages of a whole

For example:

  • 10 %
  • 8 %
  • 17 %
  • 14 %
  • 12 %
  • 19 %
  • 16 %

These are plotted on a bar graph with the top scale being 100%. As you can see there is lots of wasted space so I thought that it would be better to scale the values to take advantage of the space.

Can anyone suggest a mathematical formula I could use to scale the values into a new set of values based on a 0 to 100 scale. I would assume the largest value (e.g. 19% in this case) becomes the new 100% value.

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1 Answers 1

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Usually you just make the left axis run from $0\%$ to the maximum or some round number a little above the maximum. In your case, from $0\%$ to $20\%$ seems reasonable. You could multitply by $\frac {100}{max value}$ but it wouldn't be percent any more.

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    Although they are no longer pure percentages the relative measurements are just right.2012-12-01