Question

An article in the San Luis Obispo Tribune (November 20,2002 ) stated that \(39 \%\) of those with critical housing needs (those who pay more than half their income for housing) lived in urban areas, \(42 \%\) lived in suburban areas, and the rest lived in rural areas. Construct a pie chart that shows the distribution of type of residential area (urban, suburban, or rural) for those with critical housing needs.

Short answer

The pie chart should have three sections representing urban, suburban, and rural areas. The angles of the sections will be approximately \(140.4^\circ, 151.2^\circ, and 68.4^\circ\) respectively.

Step-by-step solution

Understanding the Data

It is stated that \(39 \%\) of those with critical housing needs live in urban areas and \(42 \%\) live in suburban areas.

Calculate the Percentage for Rural Areas

Since we know the percentage of those living in urban and suburban areas, we can calculate the percentage of those living in rural areas by subtracting these percentages from \(100 \%\). This gives us that \(100 \% - 39 \% - 42 \% = 19 \%\), thus \(19 \%\) live in rural areas.

Representing the Data on a Pie Chart

To represent this data on a pie chart, we need to convert the percentages into degrees. The entire pie chart represents \(100 \%\) or \(360^\circ\). Therefore, each \(1 \%\) represents \(360^\circ / 100 = 3.6^\circ\). This means that urban areas will be represented by \(39 \% * 3.6 ^\circ = 140.4^\circ\), suburban areas will be represented by \(42 \% * 3.6^\circ = 151.2^\circ\), and rural areas will be represented by \(19 \% * 3.6^\circ = 68.4^\circ\). Make sure that when added together, these results sum up to \(360^\circ\). Draw a circle and divide it into three sections with angles of \(140.4^\circ, 151.2^\circ\) and \(68.4^\circ\) respectively, and label each with corresponding residential area and percentage.