jill went to a library.she saw 23 boys and 20 girls reading.she also saw 17 people listening to a storyteller and 42 people using computers. how many people did jill see?

analyze
representation
solve

1 answer

To analyze and solve the problem, we first need to represent the information given and then find the total number of distinct people Jill saw in the library.

Analysis:

  1. Boys reading: 23
  2. Girls reading: 20
  3. Total reading (both boys and girls): 23 + 20 = 43
  4. People listening to a storyteller: 17
  5. People using computers: 42

Representation:

Let's denote:

  • \( R \) = People reading = 43 (23 boys + 20 girls)
  • \( S \) = People listening to a storyteller = 17
  • \( C \) = People using computers = 42

Next, we will consider how some of these groups may overlap. For example, some individuals may be counted in more than one category (people reading may also be listening to the storyteller or using computers).

However, since we don't have any specific information about the overlaps, we will assume that the groups are completely separate. This is a common approach unless specified otherwise.

Solve:

Assuming there are no overlaps:

\[ \text{Total people} = R + S + C \]

Substituting the values:

\[ \text{Total people} = 43 + 17 + 42 \]

Calculating the total:

\[ \text{Total people} = 43 + 17 = 60 \] \[ 60 + 42 = 102 \]

Conclusion:

If there are no overlaps, Jill saw a total of 102 distinct people in the library. If there are overlaps, we would need more specific information to determine the exact number of distinct individuals.