Making Predictions

A college cafeteria is looking for a new dessert to offer its 5,000 students. The table shows the preference of 225 students.

| Dessert | Cream | Candy | Cake | Pie | Cookies |
|---------|-------|-------|------|-----|---------|
| Votes | 9 | 72 | 36 | 27 | 81 |

Which statement is the best prediction about the number of cookies the college will need?

A. The college will have about 198 students who prefer cookies.
B. The college will have about 200 students who prefer cookies.
C. The college will have about 600 students who prefer cookies.
D. The college will have about 1,600 students who prefer cookies.



Answer :

Let's solve this step-by-step.

1. Step 1: Determine the total number of surveyed students.
- From the survey, the total number of students surveyed is 225.

2. Step 2: Identify the number of students who prefer cookies from the survey.
- According to the table, 27 out of the 225 surveyed students prefer cookies.

3. Step 3: Calculate the proportion of students who prefer cookies.
- The proportion can be found by dividing the number of students who prefer cookies by the total number of surveyed students: [tex]\(\frac{27}{225} = 0.12\)[/tex].

4. Step 4: Estimate the number of students who prefer cookies in the entire college.
- The college has 5,000 students in total. To find the estimated number of students who prefer cookies in the entire college, multiply the proportion by the total student population: [tex]\(0.12 \times 5000 = 600\)[/tex].

Thus, the best prediction about the number of cookies the college will need is:
- The college will have about 600 students who prefer cookies.