Word Problem

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Word Problem

by xtremecoder007 » Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:51 am
Population of Country S is 10 million less than population of country J. If in 5 years, Country J has twice as many people, how many people will live in country S in 3 years given that each country has a constant population growth of 0.5 million people.

I understand this as below

Now - Today
Assume that Population in J = J
=> Population in S = J - 10.

After 5 Years
Population in J = J + 0.5 * 5 = J + 2.5
Population in S = J - 10 + 0.5 * 5 = J - 10 + 2.5

Given that, after 5 years population in J is double that of S

=> J + 2.5 = 2 ( J - 10 + 2.5 )
=> J = 7.5 ( After calcuation )

that means Population of J on current day is 7.5
but, it also means Population of S is 7.5 - 10. This is logically not possible.

Any thoughts on this.

I know that we need to find J + 0.5 *3 = 7.5 + 1.5 = 9.0, which is the official answer.

I think the question is not constructed properly, please provide your thoughts on this.
I want to be sure that I am not missing anything here.

Thanks for your time.

HK.
Source: — Problem Solving |

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by mj78ind » Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:56 pm
The question is not well constructed. It is not clear if the population after 5 years is twice the population of J or S...

Either ways the population of S turns out negative......
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