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A certain town’s economic development council has 21 membe

by M7MBA » Sat Nov 30, 2019 4:22 am
A certain town's economic development council has 21 members. If the number of females on the council is 3 less than 3 times the number of males on the council, then the town's economic development council has how many male members?

(A) 5
(B) 6
(C) 7
(D) 9
(E) 15

[spoiler]OA=B[/spoiler]

Source: Princeton Review
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by [email protected] » Mon Dec 02, 2019 10:02 am
Hi M7MBA,

We're told that a certain town's economic development council has 21 members and that the number of females on the council is 3 LESS than 3 TIMES the number of males on the council. We're asked for the number of male members on the council. This question can be solved in a couple of different ways, including by TESTing THE ANSWERS.

Let's start with Answer B: 6 members

IF.... there are 6 male members...
the number of female members is (3)(6) - 3 = 18 - 3 = 15
6 + 15 = 21 total members

This is an exact match for what we were told, so this MUST be the answer.

Final Answer: B

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Tue Dec 03, 2019 2:21 pm
M7MBA wrote:A certain town's economic development council has 21 members. If the number of females on the council is 3 less than 3 times the number of males on the council, then the town's economic development council has how many male members?

(A) 5
(B) 6
(C) 7
(D) 9
(E) 15

[spoiler]OA=B[/spoiler]

Source: Princeton Review
Let M = the number of males

The number of females on the council is 3 less than 3 times the number of males on the council
So, 3M - 3 = the number of females

The town's economic development council has 21 members.
So, (# of males) + (# of females) = 21
We get: M + (3M - 3) = 21
Simplify: 4M - 3 = 21
So: 4M = 24
Solve: M = 6

Answer: B

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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Re: A certain town’s economic development council has 21 membe

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Mon Jan 13, 2020 2:50 pm
M7MBA wrote: ↑
Sat Nov 30, 2019 4:22 am
 A certain town's economic development council has 21 members. If the number of females on the council is 3 less than 3 times the number of males on the council, then the town's economic development council has how many male members?

(A) 5
(B) 6
(C) 7
(D) 9
(E) 15

[spoiler]OA=B[/spoiler]

Source: Princeton Review
We can let the number of females on the council = f and the number of males on the council = m.

Since the number of females on the council is 3 fewer than 3 times the number of males on the council:

f = 3m - 3

Since the total number of people on the council is 21:

f + m = 21

Thus:

3m - 3 + m = 21

4m = 24

m = 6

Answer: B

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO
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