Question

According to a report by the Nielsen Company, the average American spends 31.5 hours per week watching television. What percent of the week does the average American spend watching television?

Short answer

Answer: Approximately 18.75%

Step-by-step solution

Calculate total hours in a week #

In a week, there are 7 days, and in each day, there are 24 hours. So, the total hours in a week can be calculated as follows: Total_hours = 7 * 24

Determine the hours spent watching television #

According to the Nielsen Company's report, the average American spends 31.5 hours per week watching television. Therefore, TV_hours = 31.5.

Calculate the percentage of time spent watching television #

To find the percentage of time spent watching television, we need to divide the hours spent watching television by the total hours in a week and multiply the result by 100. The formula for calculating the percentage can be written as: Percentage = (TV_hours / Total_hours) * 100

Plug the values into the formula #

Now, we will plug the values in the formula: Percentage = (31.5 / (7 * 24)) * 100

Calculate the percentage #

After plugging the values, we get: Percentage = (31.5 / 168) * 100 ≈ 18.75% According to the Nielsen Company's report, the average American spends approximately 18.75% of their week watching television.

Key concepts

Understanding Week Duration

A week consists of seven days, and each day has 24 hours. To calculate the total number of hours in a week, we multiply the number of days by the number of hours in one day. So, in mathematical terms, this is expressed as:

• Total Hours in a Week = 7 days × 24 hours/day

This shows us that there are a total of 168 hours in a standard week. Knowing the total hours is the starting point for solving problems that involve splitting time into percentages, such as determining how much of a week is spent on average activities like watching TV.

Applying the Percentage Formula

To determine what percent of the week is spent on an activity, like watching television, we use the percentage formula. The basic percentage formula is:

• Percentage = (Part/Whole) × 100

In this context:

• "Part" is the number of hours spent watching TV (31.5 hours),
• "Whole" is the total hours in a week (168 hours).

Plugging these values into the formula, we get:

• Percentage = (31.5 / 168) × 100

Thus, by calculating, we find that the average American spends approximately 18.75% of their week watching television.

Calculating Average Time

Average time calculations help us understand how a total amount is distributed over a fixed period. In this case, the focus is on how much time is spent watching TV in a week relative to the total available hours in that week. Take the total time spent watching TV, which is 31.5 hours, and see how it compares to the overall weekly timeframe.

• Comparing individual activity hours with total hours gives insight into time management and lifestyle patterns.
• Such calculations are practical for determining priorities and making informed decisions about time use.

Thus, using average time calculations can help reveal where we spend most of our time and identify areas where we might want to adjust our schedules for better time utilization.