PSAT Math Grid-Ins Question 85: Answer and Explanation

Question: 85

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree	Total
Freshmen	35	40	24	36	135
Sophomores	37	28	12	23	100
Juniors	24	22	36	38	120
Seniors	30	40	21	24	115
Total	126	130	93	121	470

Students at Fairview High School were asked to rate their level of agreement with the school's decision to change the school colors from blue and white to maroon and orange. The results are shown in the table above, by level of agreement and class of student. If underclassmen are defined as freshmen and sophomores, what percentage of underclassmen agree or strongly agree with the new policy? Round your answer to the nearest whole number and ignore the percent sign when gridding your response.

Correct Answer: 40

Explanation:

40

Difficulty: Medium

Getting to the Answer: Read the question carefully to determine which rows and columns of the tables you will need. First, you are told that you are looking only at underclassmen, which are defined as freshmen and sophomores. Thus, you only need to consider the first two rows of the table. There are 100 + 135 = 235 underclassmen at the school. Next, you need to determine how many underclassmen either agreed or strongly agreed with the change of colors: 24 + 36 = 60 freshmen and 12 + 23 = 35 sophomores either agreed or strongly agreed with the change. Thus, the percentage of underclassmen who either agreed or strongly agreed with the new policy can be expressed as Round down and grid in 40.