Final answer:
To calculate the percent of decrease in attendance for the school play, subtract the number who attended from the number who bought tickets, divide by the number who bought tickets, and multiple by 100, giving a percent decrease of 20%.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks for the percent of decrease in attendance for the school play. Initially, 870 people bought tickets, but only 696 attended. To calculate the percent decrease, we use the formula: Percent Decrease = ((Original Number - New Number) / Original Number) × 100. Therefore, the calculation becomes ((870 - 696) / 870) × 100.
First, subtract the new number of people who attended (696) from the original number of people who bought tickets (870) to find the decrease in numbers which is 870 - 696 = 174. Then divide that decrease (174) by the original number (870) to get the fraction of the decrease which is 174 / 870 = 0.2. Finally, to find the percent decrease, multiply the fraction by 100, which gives us 0.2 × 100 = 20%.
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