If this is true 17 = 10 + 7 then 3 1/2 = 3 + 1/2 Therefore 1/2 can be separated from the 3 and changed to .5 and then added back to the 3 to get 3.5. If this sounds strange imagine you have 3 1/2 mince pies on the kitchen table and bring the 1/2 pie into the dinning room. You now have how many pies on the kitchen table? Obviously 3. When you bring the 1/2 pie back to the kitchen table you added it to the other 3 and now have
3 1/2 pies.
So 37 1/2% = 37% + 1/2% which = 37% + .5% = 37.5%