Percentage Of Unoccupied Seats On A Bus A Math Problem

Hey everyone! Today, we're diving into a fun little math problem that you might encounter in everyday life. It's all about percentages and figuring out how many seats on a bus were empty. So, buckle up and let's get started!

Understanding the Problem

So, let's break down the problem. Percentage calculations are essential, especially in situations like this. We know there are 60 seats on the bus, and 48 of them are taken. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to find the percentage of seats that are not occupied. Think of it like this: we're trying to find the empty space on the bus, expressed as a percentage of the total seats. This kind of problem isn't just about math class; it pops up in real-world scenarios all the time, from figuring out discounts at the store to understanding statistics in the news.

The first thing we need to do is find out exactly how many seats are not occupied. We know the total number of seats (60) and the number of occupied seats (48). To find the unoccupied seats, we simply subtract the occupied seats from the total seats. So, 60 minus 48 equals 12 seats. This means there are 12 seats on the bus that are empty. But we're not done yet! We need to express this number as a percentage of the total seats.

Now that we know there are 12 unoccupied seats, we need to figure out what percentage of the total 60 seats that represents. To do this, we use a simple formula: (Part / Whole) * 100. In this case, the "Part" is the number of unoccupied seats (12), and the "Whole" is the total number of seats (60). So, we have (12 / 60) * 100. When you divide 12 by 60, you get 0.2. Then, we multiply 0.2 by 100 to convert it to a percentage, which gives us 20%. Therefore, 20% of the seats on the bus were not occupied. See, that wasn't so bad, was it? By breaking the problem down into smaller steps, we were able to solve it easily.

Calculating the Unoccupied Seats

Alright, let's dive deeper into the calculation process! The key here is to first determine the number of seats that were not occupied. This is a straightforward subtraction problem, but it's the foundation for everything else we're going to do. So, we start with the total number of seats on the bus, which we know is 60. Then, we subtract the number of seats that were occupied, which is 48. This gives us the number of unoccupied seats. Think of it like this: if the bus was completely full, all 60 seats would be taken. But since only 48 seats are filled, the difference between 60 and 48 will tell us how many seats are empty. This step is crucial because we can't calculate the percentage of unoccupied seats until we know the actual number of unoccupied seats.

When we do the subtraction (60 - 48), we get 12. This means there are 12 seats on the bus that are not occupied. Now, this number by itself doesn't tell us much in the grand scheme of things. It's just a raw number. To make it more meaningful, we need to express it as a percentage of the total number of seats. This will give us a better understanding of how full or empty the bus is. For example, if there were only 6 unoccupied seats instead of 12, that would be a smaller percentage of the total seats. Conversely, if there were 30 unoccupied seats, that would be a much larger percentage. So, finding the number of unoccupied seats is just the first step in our journey to understanding the occupancy of the bus.

Once we've figured out that there are 12 unoccupied seats, we're ready to move on to the next step: calculating the percentage. But it's important to remember that this initial subtraction is a critical part of the problem-solving process. Without it, we wouldn't be able to determine the percentage of unoccupied seats. So, always make sure you start by finding the difference between the total and the occupied before moving on to the percentage calculation. It's like laying the foundation for a building – you can't build a strong structure without a solid base. In this case, the solid base is the number of unoccupied seats.

Converting to Percentage

Now comes the fun part: converting the number of unoccupied seats into a percentage! This is where we take that number we calculated earlier (12 unoccupied seats) and turn it into a percentage of the total seats (60). Remember, percentages are just a way of expressing a part of a whole as a fraction of 100. So, we're essentially asking, "What fraction of the total seats do these 12 unoccupied seats represent?" To do this, we'll use a simple formula that you'll find super useful in many different situations: (Part / Whole) * 100. Let's break down what each of these terms means in our bus seat problem.

The "Part" is the number of unoccupied seats, which we know is 12. This is the portion of the total seats that we're interested in. The "Whole" is the total number of seats on the bus, which is 60. This is the entire group that we're considering. So, we're trying to figure out what percentage 12 is of 60. Now, we plug these numbers into our formula: (12 / 60) * 100. The first step is to divide 12 by 60. If you do that calculation, you'll find that 12 divided by 60 is 0.2. This is the decimal representation of the fraction of unoccupied seats. But we're not quite at a percentage yet. To convert this decimal to a percentage, we simply multiply it by 100.

So, we take 0. 2 and multiply it by 100. This gives us 20. And that's it! We've successfully converted the number of unoccupied seats into a percentage. This means that 20% of the seats on the bus were not occupied. This percentage gives us a much clearer picture of how empty the bus was compared to just knowing that there were 12 empty seats. A percentage allows us to compare this situation to other situations more easily. For example, if we knew that on another bus, 30% of the seats were unoccupied, we could quickly see that the second bus was emptier than the first. Converting to a percentage is a powerful tool for making comparisons and understanding proportions.

The Answer: 20%

So, after all our calculations, we've arrived at the answer! The final answer to the question, "What percent of the seats were NOT occupied?" is 20%. This means that one-fifth of the seats on the bus were empty. It's important to understand what this percentage represents in the context of the problem. It tells us the proportion of seats that were available, rather than the proportion that were taken. This can be useful information in various situations, such as planning transportation or analyzing occupancy rates.

To recap, we started by identifying the key information in the problem: the total number of seats (60) and the number of occupied seats (48). Then, we calculated the number of unoccupied seats by subtracting the occupied seats from the total seats (60 - 48 = 12). Finally, we converted this number into a percentage by dividing the number of unoccupied seats by the total number of seats and multiplying by 100 ((12 / 60) * 100 = 20%). Each of these steps is crucial for arriving at the correct answer. If we skipped any of these steps, we wouldn't be able to accurately determine the percentage of unoccupied seats.

This problem highlights the importance of understanding percentages and how they relate to real-world situations. Percentages are used everywhere, from calculating discounts at the store to understanding financial reports. By mastering the basics of percentage calculations, you'll be better equipped to solve a wide range of problems in your daily life. And remember, practice makes perfect! The more you work with percentages, the more comfortable you'll become with them. So, keep practicing, and you'll be a percentage pro in no time!

In conclusion, the correct answer is C. 20%. We hope this step-by-step explanation has helped you understand how to solve this type of problem. Keep practicing, and you'll ace those math questions in no time! And remember, math isn't just about numbers; it's about problem-solving and critical thinking, skills that are valuable in all aspects of life. So, embrace the challenge, and have fun with it!