Using Venn Diagrams to Solve Problems:

Using Venn Diagrams to Solve Problems

Venn Diagrams are pictorial ways of representing interactions among sets to display information that can be read easily. Each set of given information is designated a circle. Interactions between the sets are shown in the circles' intersections; items common to both sets are found in the intersection whereas otheritems are found outside the intersection. Lets do an example problem to show how such a diagram works:

In a survey of children who saw three different shows at Walt Disney World, the following information was gathered:

39 children liked The Little Mermaid
43 children liked 101 Dalmatians
56 children liked Mickey Mouse
7 children liked The Little Mermaid and 101 Dalmatians
10 children liked The Little Mermaid and Mickey Mouse
16 children liked 101 Dalmatians and Mickey Mouse
4 children liked The Little Mermaid, 101 Dalmatians, and Mickey Mouse
6 children did not like any of the shows

Answer the following questions:

How many students were surveyed?
How many liked The Little Mermaid only?
How many liked 101 Dalmatians only?
How many liked Mickey Mouse only?

Check out the solution: Page 2

Lauren Rogers and Thuong Dang, The University of Texas at Austin
Send comments to: lsrogers@mail.utexas.edu or tune@mail.utexas.edu

This page was last updated on April 20, 1998