Question

In a committee, 50 people speak French, 20 speak Spanish and 10 speak both Spanish and French. How many speak at least one of these two languages?

Answer 1

Let F be the set of people in the committee who speak French, and

S be the set of people in the committee who speak Spanish

∴ n(F) = 50, n(S) = 20, n(S ∩ F) = 10

We know that:

n(S ∪ F) = n(S) + n(F) – n(S ∩ F)

= 20 + 50 – 10

= 70 – 10 = 60

Thus, 60 people in the committee speak at least one of the two languages.