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Lori and Jim dollars

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by kobel51 » Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:24 pm
Lori has x dollars more than Jim has, and together they have a total of y dollars. Which of the following represents the number of dollars that Jim has?

A) (y-x)/2

B) y - x/2

C) y/2 - x

D) 2y - x

E) y - 2x
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:40 pm
kobel51 wrote:Lori has x dollars more than Jim has, and together they have a total of y dollars. Which of the following represents the number of dollars that Jim has?

A) (y-x)/2
B) y - x/2
C) y/2 - x
D) 2y - x
E) y - 2x
Let ]J = the number of dollars that Jim has

Lori has x dollars more than Jim has
So, J + x = the number of dollars that Lori has

Together they have a total of y dollars
In other words, (Jim's money) + (Lori's money) = x
So, (J) + (J + x) = y

Which of the following represents the number of dollars that Jim has?
Take J + J + x = y, and solve for J

First simplify the equation to get: 2J + x = y
Subtract x from both sides: 2J = y - x
Divide both sides by 2 to get: J = (y - x)/2

Answer: A

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by Patrick_GMATFix » Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:40 pm
There are a few ways to solve:
You could plug-in simple numbers (eg: Lori has x=2 more, and together they have y=5), solve and select the answer choice that matches your solution
You could use word translations to build equations that reflect the info given. In this case, use as few variables as possible (e: no need to use two variables for Jim and Lori since we can use J and J+x).

The full solution below is taken from the GMATFix App.

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by [email protected] » Mon Feb 24, 2014 6:12 pm
Hi kobel51,

This question is perfect for TESTing Values. Here's how...

Lori has X dollars more than Jim has and together they have a total of Y dollars. How many dollars does Jim have?

Lori has MORE dollars than Jim....

Let's say:
Jim = 2 dollars
Lori = 3 dollars

So....
X = 1
Y = 5

Now, plug in these values into the answer choices and find the one that equals 2...

Answer A = 4/2 = 2
Answer B = 5 - 1/2 = 4.5
Answer C = 5/2 - 1 = 1.5
Answer D = 10 - 1 = 9
Answer E = 5 - 2 = 3

Final Answer: A

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by Abhishek009 » Tue Feb 25, 2014 9:39 am
kobel51 wrote:Lori has x dollars more than Jim
Let the amount with Lori and Jim be L and J respectively

So L = J + x ------------> ( 1 )
kobel51 wrote:together they have a total of y dollars.
L + J = y ------------> ( 2 )

Equating ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) we have -

J + x + J = y

2J = y - x

So J = ( y - x ) / 2

IMO (A)..
Abhishek
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by theCodeToGMAT » Tue Feb 25, 2014 9:46 am
L = J + x

L + J = y

TO find: J's Money

J = L - x

J = y - J - x

J = (y-x)/2

[spoiler]{A}[/spoiler]
R A H U L
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