If Jake loses $8$ pounds, he will weigh twice as much as his sister. Together they now weigh $278$ pounds. What is

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BTGmoderatorLU: Moderator; Posts: 2650; Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2017 1:50 pmFollowed by: 6 members

by BTGmoderatorLU » Fri Jul 08, 2022 7:54 am

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Source: GMAT Paper Tests

If Jake loses $8$ pounds, he will weigh twice as much as his sister. Together they now weigh $278$ pounds. What is Jake's present weight, in pounds?

A. $131$
B. $135$
C. $139$
D. $147$
E. $188$

The OA is E

Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Fri Jul 08, 2022 7:54 am

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16206; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

Re: If Jake loses $8$ pounds, he will weigh twice as much as his sister. Together they now weigh $278$ pounds. What

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:29 pm

BTGmoderatorLU wrote: ↑
Fri Jul 08, 2022 7:54 am
Source: GMAT Paper Tests

If Jake loses $8$ pounds, he will weigh twice as much as his sister. Together they now weigh $278$ pounds. What is Jake's present weight, in pounds?

A. $131$
B. $135$
C. $139$
D. $147$
E. $188$

The OA is E

Here's a solution that uses one variable.

Let x = Jake's present weight in pounds
So, x - 8 = Jake's hypothetical weight IF he were to lose 8 pounds

If Jake loses 8 pounds, he will weigh twice as much as his sister.
In other words, the sister weighs HALF as much as Jake's hypothetical weight of x - 8 pounds
So, (x - 8)/2 = sister's present weight

Together they NOW weigh 278 pounds.
So, Jake's present weight + sister's present weight = 278
So, x + (x - 8)/2 = 278
Eliminate the fraction by multiplying both sides by 2 to get: 2x + (x - 8) = 556
Simplify: 3x - 8 = 556
Add 8 to both sides: 3x = 564
Solve: x = 564/3 = 188

Answer: E

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regor60: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 416; Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:52 am; Thanked: 27 times

Re: If Jake loses $8$ pounds, he will weigh twice as much as his sister. Together they now weigh $278$ pounds. What

by regor60 » Sun Jul 10, 2022 6:30 am

BTGmoderatorLU wrote: ↑
Fri Jul 08, 2022 7:54 am
Source: GMAT Paper Tests

If Jake loses $8$ pounds, he will weigh twice as much as his sister. Together they now weigh $278$ pounds. What is Jake's present weight, in pounds?

A. $131$
B. $135$
C. $139$
D. $147$
E. $188$

The OA is E

This is the same thing as saying that if you subtract 8 from the appropriate answer choice the result will be a multiple of 2 and thus even.

Answer choices A,B,C and D are odd numbers that will result in an odd number if the even number 8 is subtracted from them, therefore the answer must be E,188

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Scott@TargetTestPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 8246; Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 amFollowed by: 29 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 43 times

Re: If Jake loses $8$ pounds, he will weigh twice as much as his sister. Together they now weigh $278$ pounds. What

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Thu Feb 02, 2023 11:38 am

BTGmoderatorLU wrote: ↑
Fri Jul 08, 2022 7:54 am
Source: GMAT Paper Tests

If Jake loses $8$ pounds, he will weigh twice as much as his sister. Together they now weigh $278$ pounds. What is Jake's present weight, in pounds?

A. $131$
B. $135$
C. $139$
D. $147$
E. $188$

The OA is E

We let J = Jake’s current weight and S = Sister’s current weight, in pounds, and create the equations:

J – 8 = 2S

J = 2S + 8 (Equation 1)

and

J + S = 278 (Equation 2)

To solve this equation, we can substitute 2S + 8 from Equation 1 for the variable J in Equation 2:

(2S + 8) + S = 278

3S = 270

S = 90

We now know that the sister weighs S = 90 pounds, and we can plug that value into either equation to determine J. Let’s plug 90 for S into equation 2:

J + 90 = 278

J = 188

Answer: E

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Founder and CEO
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