A class of 24 students was asked to identify a team sport in which they have participated. Their responses are shown in the line plot.
A line plot is shown for 5 sports.
The first sport is football. Above football there are 4 x marks.
The second sport is soccer. Above soccer there are 8 x marks.
The third sport is baseball. Above baseball there are 7 x marks.
The fourth sport is basketball. Above basketball there are 5 x marks.
The fifth sport is Track and Field. Above Track and Field there are 4 x marks.
How many total responses are recorded in the line plot for the five sports?
What is the total number of students polled?
Give a possible explanation as to why the answers to parts (a) and (b) are different.
(a) The total number of responses recorded for the five sports is 4 + 8 + 7 + 5 + 4 = 28.
(b) The total number of students polled is 24.
(c) The answers to parts (a) and (b) are different because some students may have participated in more than one sport, so there is overlap in the responses. For example, some students may have played both soccer and basketball, so they would be counted twice in part (a) but only once in part (b).