by StaceyKoprince Tue Jun 19, 2007 3:13 am
Tricky. I love that both-neither formula... but it has to be adjusted for this problem because of the set-up.
The formula is:
Total = Group 1 + Group 2 + Neither - Both.
Group 1 in this case we'll call Brand A and Group 2 will be Brand B. Group 1 includes EVERYONE who uses Brand A, not just the people who ONLY use Brand A. Ditto for Group 2 / Brand B. And this is where the formula breaks down: the value given in the problem for Brand B (3x) is for those using ONLY Brand B, not EVERYONE using Brand B. The formula assumes the two Groups INCLUDE the "Both" people, which is why it subtracts them out at the end. But we don't need to subtract out the overlap if the overlap is not included in the two Groups - just the opposite, we need to add the "Both" people in because they haven't been counted in the two Groups.
The figure given for Brand A is also for those who ONLY use A, so we need to change the formula to:
Total = Group 1 + Group 2 + Neither + Both (because we haven't yet counted the 'Both' people elsewhere in the formula).
200 = 60 + 3B + 80 + B
200 - 140 = 4B
60 = 4B
B = 15
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep