Two-way tables, step by step
Two categories across, two down, and the margins that hold them together.
| Renewed | Returned | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiction | 18 | 14 | 32 |
| Facts | 18 | 2 | 20 |
| Total | 36 | 16 | 52 |
Of the 20 non-fiction borrowers, what percent returned it?
%
Of the 20 non-fiction borrowers, what percent returned it?
- "Of the 20 non-fiction borrowers" — that is the row, and it is the only part of the table this question is about. The other row is not being asked about at all, and neither is the 52 at the bottom.
- Now the part. Of that row, 2 returned it — the Returned column. So the fraction is 2 out of 20, not 2 out of 52.
- Divide: 2 ÷ 20 = 0.1. A percent is "out of a hundred", so multiply by 100: 10%.
- So the answer is 10% — 2 of the 20 non-fiction borrowers, and 2 ÷ 20 = 0.1, which is 10%. Had you divided by the 52 instead, you would have answered a different question: what percent of EVERYONE, rather than of that row.
How it works.
- 01
"Of the 20 non-fiction borrowers" — that is the row, and it is the only part of the table this question is about. The other row is not being asked about at all, and neither is the 52 at the bottom.
- 02
Now the part. Of that row, 2 returned it — the Returned column. So the fraction is 2 out of 20, not 2 out of 52.
- 03
Divide: 2 ÷ 20 = 0.1. A percent is "out of a hundred", so multiply by 100: 10%.
- 04
So the answer is 10% — 2 of the 20 non-fiction borrowers, and 2 ÷ 20 = 0.1, which is 10%. Had you divided by the 52 instead, you would have answered a different question: what percent of EVERYONE, rather than of that row.