Analyzing Book Sales Data Comparison

The question asks us to compare the number of hardbound books sold by Shop A with the number of paperback books sold by Shop C. We need to find out what percentage less the sales of Shop A are compared to Shop C.

Identifying Sales Figures

First, let's extract the relevant sales data from the provided table:

• Number of hardbound books sold by Shop A = 3500
• Number of paperback books sold by Shop C = 5500

Calculating the Difference in Sales

Next, we find the absolute difference between these two sales figures. The comparison is based on Shop C's paperback sales, so we calculate how much less Shop A's hardbound sales are:

Difference = Sales of paperback books by Shop C - Sales of hardbound books by Shop A

Difference = $5500 - 3500 = 2000$

Calculating the Percentage Difference

To find the percentage difference, we use the following formula. The 'base' value for the percentage calculation is the number of paperback books sold by Shop C, as the question asks how much less Shop A's sales are *than* Shop C's sales:

Percentage Less = $\left( \frac{\text{Difference}}{\text{Sales of paperback books by Shop C}} \right) \times 100\%$

Now, let's plug in the values:

Percentage Less = $\left( \frac{2000}{5500} \right) \times 100\%$

Simplify the fraction:

Percentage Less = $\left( \frac{20}{55} \right) \times 100\% = \left( \frac{4}{11} \right) \times 100\%$

Performing the calculation:

Percentage Less $\approx 0.363636... \times 100\% \approx 36.36\%$

Determining the Approximate Percentage

The question asks for the approximate percentage. Comparing our calculated value of 36.36% to the given options:

• Option 1: 32%
• Option 2: 36%
• Option 3: 38%
• Option 4: 42%

The value 36.36% is approximately 36%. Therefore, the number of hardbound books sold by Shop A is approximately 36% less than the number of paperback books sold by Shop C.