If you can't visualize cramya's algebraic solution, you can use POE. The ratios sum to 16 so you know total must be a multiple of 16. This eliminates D and E. Your tough choices will be between B and C. You might reason that since the ratios between the last 3 are closer, that more than half had to have been taken from the first and distributed to the other 3 for there to be such big gap between the first and second. That leaves you with C. If you couldn't come up with this also, a plain old guess could still produce C.cramya wrote:I would go with C
There are a total of 4m objects
First container quantity after the move = 1/16*4m = m/4
So m - m/4 = 3m/4 were moved
Cramya, this algebra may have worked in this case but it is not true in generalcramya wrote:I would go with C
There are a total of 4m objects
First container quantity after the move = 1/16*4m = m/4
So m - m/4 = 3m/4 were moved
It does not work in general.scoobydooby wrote:dtweah,
used the same logic as cramyas and it seems to work.
say initial distribution: 16:16:16:16
final distribution : 4:24:20:16
removed from A: 3/4*16=12 which is what we have (16-4=12)
A ratio must be put in its simplest and 4 24 20 16 is not its simplest. However, Cramya's algebra was correct becuase instead of sum being 64 I made it 96 which is why I began thinking of another algebra method.scoobydooby wrote:hey dtweah,
what i mean is we would never come to a situation in which we will have the final distribution as 2 10 11 9
if we started with 16:16:16:16; total: 64
final distribution would be (1/16*64):(6/16*64):(5/16*64): (4/16*64)
=> 4:24:20:16
removed from 1st: 12 or 3/4*16
:)
