Paul W.

asked • 02/08/15

5 people liked cereal and 6 people liked pancakes, how many people liked either cereal or pancakes?

 
trying to find the definition of the words either and or in this math word problem

Jon P.

tutor
The problem is that there isn't enough information to solve this.  You need to have one more piece of information, such as how many people there were altogether.  For example, suppose there were only 6 people, and they all liked pancakes and one of them didn't like cereal.  So there would be 6 people who liked either pancakes or cereal.
 
But suppose there were 11 people -- 5 liked cereal and 6 liked pancakes.  Then there would be 11 people who liked either pancakes or cereal.
 
So the answer depends on how many people there were all together.
 
 
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02/08/15

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Jacoby B. answered • 02/08/15

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When I see the words either and/or I realize that it is a combination of what is given. Let's look at it from a probability perspective and we can logically see this proof. 
 
What is the probability of A and B happening? This can be evaluated as taken place at the same time. 
 
What at is the probability of A or B happening? This can be evaluate this as having more frequency as these probabilities can take place outside of each other. 
 
With thy that being said, the question pose somewhat of some trickery as it is worded cereal or pancakes, which is the total amount of people's "likes".
 
 
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