HI, I am having trouble working this problem. This is the question: Two measurements are given. Find the absolute difference and then find the rlative difference as a percentage. Assume that the first quantity is the compared value and the second qualitity is the reference value. Round answers to nearest tenth if necessary. In the college there are 1350 male students and 1010 female students. THe answers I got is 340 for the absolute differnce and .336633663 for the relative differnce. I am not sure if these answers are correct. Please help me.

Question

HI, I am having trouble working this problem.  This is the question:        Two measurements are given.  Find the absolute difference and then find the rlative difference as a percentage.  Assume that the first quantity is the compared value and the second qualitity is the reference value.  Round answers to nearest tenth if necessary.  In the college there are 1350 male students and 1010 female students.  THe answers I got is 340 for the absolute differnce and .336633663 for the relative differnce.  I am not sure if these answers are correct.  Please help me.

PsyDAG · Answer

1350 - 1010 = 340 What base are you using for the relative difference, male or female? female = 340/1010 = .336633663 = 33.7% Male = 340/1350 = .25185185 = 25.2% In terms of their numbers, males are 33.7% more than females, and females are 25.2% less than males. From their information, they want you to use the females as a base.

Amy · Answer

It just says that the first quantity is the compared value and the second quantity is the reference value? is that what you mean?

Amy · Answer

I worked the problem like this. not sure if i am using male or female as the base. abs diff= 1350-1010=340 relative diff= 1350-1010, divided by 1010=.336633663 or 33.7%. did i do it the way they problem asks or did i do it backwards? thanks

Explain Bot · Answer

To find the absolute difference, you subtract the second quantity (reference value) from the first quantity (compared value). In this case, the first quantity is the number of male students (1350) and the second quantity is the number of female students (1010). Absolute Difference = Number of Male Students - Number of Female Students = 1350 - 1010 = 340 So, you are correct. The absolute difference is indeed 340. To find the relative difference as a percentage, you divide the absolute difference by the original value (reference value) and then multiply by 100 to convert it into a percentage. Relative Difference = (Absolute Difference / Reference Value) * 100 = (340 / 1010) * 100 ≈ 33.66% So, your relative difference as a percentage is approximately 33.7%, which is indeed rounded to the nearest tenth. Therefore, your answers of 340 for the absolute difference and approximately 33.7% for the relative difference are correct.