How many inhabitants of Lone Pine survived as a result of the earthquake? Tell me how you came to that conclusion.

Context: The earthquake occurred on a Tuesday morning and leveled almost all the buildings in Lone Pine and nearby settlements. Of the estimated 250–300 inhabitants of Lone Pine, 27 are known to have perished and 52 of the 59 houses were destroyed. One report states that the main buildings were thrown down in almost every town in Inyo County. About 130 kilometers south of Lone Pine, at Indian Wells, adobe houses sustained cracks. Property loss has been estimated at $250,000. As in many earthquakes, adobe, stone and masonry structures fared worse than wooden ones which prompted the closing of nearby Camp Independence which was an adobe structure destroyed in the quake.

Answer: It is estimated that between 223 and 273 inhabitants of Lone Pine survived the earthquake.

The passage shows that there was "an estimated 250–300 inhabitants of Lone Pine" and that "27 are known to have perished". If we subtract 27 from 250, you get 223, and if we subtract 27 from 300, we get 273. Therefore, it can be estimated that the number of inhabitants that survived the earthquake is between 223 and 273.