Sure, let's solve the problem step by step.
Step 1: Determine the number of men and women polled.
- There were 50 men and 40 women polled.
Step 2: Determine the percentage of men and women who prefer fiction.
- 70% of the men prefer fiction.
- 25% of the women prefer fiction.
Step 3: Calculate the number of men who prefer fiction.
- Since 70% of the 50 men prefer fiction:
[tex]\[
\text{Number of men who prefer fiction} = 50 \times 0.70 = 35 \text{ men}
\][/tex]
Step 4: Calculate the number of women who prefer fiction.
- Since 25% of the 40 women prefer fiction:
[tex]\[
\text{Number of women who prefer fiction} = 40 \times 0.25 = 10 \text{ women}
\][/tex]
Step 5: Calculate the total number of people who prefer fiction.
- Summing up the number of men and women who prefer fiction:
[tex]\[
\text{Total number of people who prefer fiction} = 35 + 10 = 45 \text{ people}
\][/tex]
Step 6: Calculate the total number of people polled.
- The total number of people polled is:
[tex]\[
\text{Total number of people polled} = 50 \text{ men} + 40 \text{ women} = 90 \text{ people}
\][/tex]
Step 7: Calculate the percentage of the total number of people polled who prefer fiction.
- The percent of people who prefer fiction:
[tex]\[
\text{Percentage} = \left(\frac{45}{90}\right) \times 100 = 50\%
\][/tex]
Thus, the percent of the number of people polled who preferred to read fiction is [tex]\(50\%\)[/tex].
So, the correct answer is (C) 50%.
