A group of students and workers entering a metro station were asked whether they were riding the bus or the subway. The two-way table shows their answers.
Types of Transportation
| | Bus | Subway | Total |
| :------- | --- | ------ | ----- |
| Students | 27 | 21 | 48 |
| Workers | 42 | 76 | 118 |
| Total | 69 | 97 | |
How many people were polled?
A. 48
B. 69
C. 118
D. 166
Answer (1)
Add the number of students and workers to find the total number of people polled.
The number of students is 48 and the number of workers is 118.
Calculate the sum: 48 + 118 = 166 .
The total number of people polled is 166 .
Explanation
Understand the problem and provided data We are given a two-way table that shows the distribution of students and workers based on their mode of transportation (bus or subway). The question asks for the total number of people polled. We can find this by adding the number of students and the number of workers.
Set up the calculation The number of students is 48, and the number of workers is 118. To find the total number of people polled, we add these two numbers together: T o t a l = St u d e n t s + W or k ers T o t a l = 48 + 118
Calculate the total number of people polled Performing the addition, we get: T o t a l = 48 + 118 = 166 Therefore, the total number of people polled is 166.
State the final answer The total number of people polled is 166.
Examples
In survey sampling, determining the total number of respondents is crucial for understanding the scope and representativeness of the data. For example, if a school wants to understand student preferences for extracurricular activities, they might survey a group of students. Knowing the total number of students surveyed helps the school accurately interpret the results and make informed decisions about which activities to offer. In this case, knowing that 166 people were polled allows us to understand the scale of the survey and the reliability of the results.
