CNN News Clip

Liz knows that half the students from her school are accepted at the public university nearby. Also, half are accepted at the local private college. Liz thinks that this adds up to 100%, so she will surely be accepted at one or the other institution. Explain why Liz may be wrong. If possible, use a diagram in your explanation.

A summary of the results of this examination question was printed in 1989 in A Question of Thinking: A First Look at Students' Performance on Open-Ended Questions in Mathematics. The CNN News Clip is a video encouraging women to choose careers in math, engineering, and physics.