the vending machine technician discovered that 55% of the claustrophobic candy bars fell out of the vending machine for free. if 11 of the claustrophobic candy bars fell out of the machine for free, how many claustrophobic candy bars were in the machine in total?

Let's assume that the total number of claustrophobic candy bars in the vending machine is C.

We know that 55% of them fell out of the machine for free, which is 55/100 * C = 11 candy bars.
If we solve this equation, we get C = 11 * 100 / 55 = 20 candy bars.
Therefore, there were 20 claustrophobic candy bars in the vending machine in total. Answer: \boxed{20}.

To find out the total number of claustrophobic candy bars in the vending machine, we can set up a proportion using the information given.

Let's assume the total number of claustrophobic candy bars in the machine is represented by "x".

We know that 55% of the claustrophobic candy bars fell out of the machine for free, which is equivalent to 55/100 or 0.55 as a decimal.

Thus, we can set up the proportion: 0.55 = 11/x.

To solve for "x," we can cross-multiply:

0.55 * x = 11.

Dividing both sides of the equation by 0.55:

x = 11 / 0.55.

Evaluating the division:

x = 20.

Therefore, there were 20 claustrophobic candy bars in total in the vending machine.

To find the total number of claustrophobic candy bars in the vending machine, we can use the given information. We know that 55% of the candy bars fell out for free, which is equal to 11 candy bars.

Step 1: Determine the percentage in decimal form.
55% = 0.55

Step 2: Set up a proportion to find the total number of candy bars.
Let "x" represent the total number of claustrophobic candy bars.
0.55 (percentage of candy bars that fell out for free) = 11 (number of candy bars that fell out for free)
0.55x = 11

Step 3: Solve for "x" by dividing both sides of the equation by 0.55.
0.55x / 0.55 = 11 / 0.55
x ≈ 20

Therefore, there were approximately 20 claustrophobic candy bars in the vending machine.