We know that two-fifths of the respondents said they liked spending their vacation at the beach. This can be represented mathematically as:
\[ \frac{2}{5}r = 80 \]
where \( r \) is the total number of residents surveyed.
To find the number of residents surveyed, we can solve this equation for \( r \):
- Multiply both sides by 5 to eliminate the fraction:
\[ 2r = 80 \times 5 \] \[ 2r = 400 \]
- Now, divide both sides by 2 to solve for \( r \):
\[ r = \frac{400}{2} \] \[ r = 200 \]
Thus, the number of residents surveyed is \( 200 \).
The equation that represents the situation is:
\[ \frac{2}{5}r = 80 \]
And the total number of residents surveyed is \( 200 \).