Final answer:
To determine the number of people working at a factory, convert the percentage of the working population (8.5%) to a decimal (0.085) and multiply by the total town population (32,600), resulting in 2,771 people working at the factory.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking how to calculate the number of people working at a factory in a town, given the percentage of the population that works there and the total population of the town. To find this number, we apply the concept of percentages. 8.5% of the population works at the factory, and the town has 32,600 people.
To calculate the number of people working at the factory, we convert the percentage to a decimal by dividing it by 100 and then multiply it by the total population:
Number of people working at the factory = % of population working at the factory × Total population
= 0.085 × 32,600
= 2,771
Therefore, 2,771 people work at the factory in that town.