26.
At two high schools, those planning to attend college after graduation were polled. The
sizes of the colleges they planned to attend based on student body sizes were tabulated
in the table above. The 255 polled students from Manhattan High East had an average
SAT score above 1100, and the 249 polled students from Manhattan High West had an
average SAT score below 1100. If a poll respondent were chosen at random from those
planning to attend a college with at least 5,000 students, what is the probability that the
respondent would be enrolled at Manhattan High West?A)
B)
C)
D)
Here’s How to Crack It
Probability is defined as the number of things that fit the requirements divided by the total number of
possible outcomes. Read the graph carefully to figure out how many respondents fit into each of these
categories. The respondent is chosen from among those planning to attend colleges with “at least 5,000
students.” That means that the total number of possible outcomes includes the 267 respondents who plan
to attend medium schools and the 173 who plan to attend large schools, for 440 total. That is the
denominator of the probability fraction, and the answer choices aren’t reduced, so the answer must be (B)
or (C). To find the number from among these 440 respondents who are enrolled at Manhattan High West,
look in that row and add the 112 from the medium column to the 98 from the large column to get 210 for
the numerator. The correct answer is (B).