Math Problem Statement

There are 81 students in the Travel Club. They discovered that 34 members have visited country​ A, 38 have visited country​ B, 33 have been to country​ C, 12 have visited countries A and​ B, 14 have been only to country​ C, and 16 have been only to country A. Some club members have not been to any of the three foreign​ countries, and,​ curiously, an equal number have been to all three countries. ​(a) How many students have been to all three​ countries?

Solution

To solve this problem, we'll use the principle of inclusion-exclusion, which is helpful when dealing with overlapping sets. Let’s define the variables and sets:

  • Total number of students: U=81|U| = 81
  • Number of students who visited:
    • Country A: A=34|A| = 34
    • Country B: B=38|B| = 38
    • Country C: C=33|C| = 33
    • Both A and B: AB=12|A \cap B| = 12
    • Only C: C(AB)=14|C \setminus (A \cup B)| = 14
    • Only A: A(BC)=16|A \setminus (B \cup C)| = 16
  • Let xx represent the number of students who have visited all three countries.

Step-by-Step Solution:

  1. Number of students visiting only A: This is given directly as 1616.

  2. Number of students visiting only C: This is also given directly as 1414.

  3. Number of students visiting only B: We need to calculate this indirectly. Let’s start by calculating the number of students who have visited just A and B (excluding C) from AB=12|A \cap B| = 12.

  4. Inclusion-Exclusion Formula: The number of students who visited all three countries is represented by xx, and the number of students who have visited any of the three countries is: ABC=A+B+CABBCAC+ABC|A \cup B \cup C| = |A| + |B| + |C| - |A \cap B| - |B \cap C| - |A \cap C| + |A \cap B \cap C| We'll substitute the known values into the inclusion-exclusion equation. To compute how many visited all three countries, we set:

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Set Theory
Inclusion-Exclusion Principle

Formulas

|A ∪ B ∪ C| = |A| + |B| + |C| - |A ∩ B| - |B ∩ C| - |A ∩ C| + |A ∩ B ∩ C|

Theorems

Inclusion-Exclusion Principle

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 10-12