Hussain15 wrote:
Among 400 students, 56% study sociology, 44% study mathematics and 40% study biology. If 30% of students study both mathematics and sociology, what is the largest possible number of students who study biology but do not study either mathematics or sociology?
A. 30
B. 90
C. 120
D. 172
E. 188
I think the question is more of a logic than equation based only...
we are told from the beginning that 40% students study biology. that's 160 students.
we have 30% (120 students) who study both math and sociology.
if 120 students study all 3 subjects, then 40 of the students study biology only.
if 120 students study only math and sociology, then the maximum # of students to study only biology is 160.
since we do not have 160 here, let's narrow down to what we have.
we know that 40<=# we are looking for<=160
A, D, and E are right away eliminated.
between B and D.
suppose 40 students study all 3 subjects. then 80 study only sociology and math.
therefore, we might have 0 who study sociology and biology, and 0 who study math and biology.
in this case, sociology only = 104, and math only = 56.
we are then left with biology only = 120.
since C is possible, and is definitely greater than B, then C must be the answer.