Rationale
Last year, Skateboard Magazine had 3,325 subscribers.
To find last year's subscriber count, we can use the formula for percentage increase. Given that this year's subscribers (4,256) represent a 28% increase, we can set up the equation to find last year's total.
A) To determine if last year's subscribers were 5,448, we would calculate the increase from that number. A 28% increase on 5,448 results in approximately 6,999 subscribers, which exceeds the current total of 4,256. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
B) If last year's subscribers were 4,228, a 28% increase would yield about 5,405 subscribers this year, which is again greater than 4,256. Hence, this option does not fit the given data.
C) Last year, Skateboard Magazine had 3,325 subscribers. To verify, we can calculate a 28% increase: 3,325 × 0.28 = 930, and adding this to last year's total gives us 3,325 + 930 = 4,255, which is approximately 4,256 (considering rounding). This matches the current subscriber count.
D) Assuming last year’s subscribers were 3,064, a 28% increase would result in 3,064 × 0.28 = 857.92, which when added to 3,064 gives approximately 3,921. This figure is far below this year's total of 4,256, making this option incorrect.
Conclusion
To summarize, by calculating the percentage increase from last year's subscriber count, we find that Skateboard Magazine had 3,325 subscribers last year. This aligns with the 28% increase leading to this year's total of 4,256. The other options either result in subscriber counts that exceed or fall short of the current total, confirming that option C is the correct answer.