Of the films Empty Set Studios released last year, 60% were comedies and the rest were horror films. 75% of the comedies were profitable, but 75% of the horror films were unprofitable. If the studio made a total of 40 films and broke even on none of them, how many of its films were profitable?
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Correct answer: E
For an overlapping sets problem, it is best to use a double-set matrix to organize the information and solve. Fill in the information in the order in which it is given.<br><br>Because none of the films broke even, each film can be treated as either profitable or unprofitable.<br><br>
Of the films Empty Set Studios released last year, \(60\%\) were comedies and the rest were horror films.<br><br>
$$\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
& \text{Comedies} & \text{Horror Films} & \text{Total} \\
\hline
\text{Profitable} & & & \\
\hline
\text{Unprofitable} & & & \\
\hline
\text{Total} & 0.6x & 0.4x & x \\
\hline
\end{array}$$<br><br>
\(75\%\) of the comedies were profitable, but \(75\%\) of the horror films were unprofitable.<br><br>
$$\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
& \text{Comedies} & \text{Horror Films} & \text{Total} \\
\hline
\text{Profitable} & 0.75(0.6x) & & \\
\hline
\text{Unprofitable} & & 0.75(0.4x) & \\
\hline
\text{Total} & 0.6x & 0.4x & x \\
\hline
\end{array}$$<br><br>
If the studio made a total of \(40\) films...<br><br>
$$\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
& \text{Comedies} & \text{Horror Films} & \text{Total} \\
\hline
\text{Profitable} & 0.75(24) = 18 & & \\
\hline
\text{Unprofitable} & & 0.75(16) = 12 & \\
\hline
\text{Total} & 0.6(40) = 24 & 0.4(40) = 16 & x = 40 \\
\hline
\end{array}$$<br><br>
Since each row and each column must sum to the total value, we can fill in the remaining boxes.<br><br>
$$\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
& \text{Comedies} & \text{Horror Films} & \text{Total} \\
\hline
\text{Profitable} & 18 & 4 & 22 \\
\hline
\text{Unprofitable} & 6 & 12 & 18 \\
\hline
\text{Total} & 24 & 16 & 40 \\
\hline
\end{array}$$
The problem seeks the total number of profitable films, which is \(22\). <br>
The correct answer is E.