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Mary, Jhon and Karen are eating lunch together...

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by mariapazos » Tue May 31, 2011 8:41 pm
Mary, Jhon and Karen are eating lunch together. Karen's meal costs 50% more than Jhon's meal and Mary's costs 5/6 as much as Karen's meal. If Mary pays $2 more tha Jhon, how much is the total that the three of them have to pay?

A. $28.33
B. $30.00
C. $35.00
D. $37.50
E. $40.00
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by Frankenstein » Tue May 31, 2011 9:23 pm
Hi,
Let the cost of meals of Karen,Jhon and Maty be k,j and m respectively
k=3j/2, m=5k/6 = (5/6).(3/2).j = 5j/4
Also given that m=j+2 =>5j/4=j+2=>j=8
So, m= 5j/4 = 10
k=3j/2 = 12
So, total payment = 8+10+12 = 30$

Hence, B

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by cans » Tue May 31, 2011 10:48 pm
let jhon pays x
then karen pays 1.5x
mary pays 1.5x*5/6 = 1.25x
1.25x=2+x =>x=8
Thus total = x+1.5x+1.25x = 3.75x = 3.75*8 = 30
IMO B
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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Jun 01, 2011 4:39 am
mariapazos wrote:Mary, Jhon and Karen are eating lunch together. Karen's meal costs 50% more than Jhon's meal and Mary's costs 5/6 as much as Karen's meal. If Mary pays $2 more tha Jhon, how much is the total that the three of them have to pay?

A. $28.33
B. $30.00
C. $35.00
D. $37.50
E. $40.00
Even someone who struggles with algebra can solve this problem by guessing and checking.

Let M=Mary, J=John, K=Karen.
Since M = (5/6)K, there is a good chance that M is a multiple of 5 and that K is a multiple of 6.
Let M=10.
Since M pays $2 more than J, J=8.
Since K is 50% more than J, K=12.
Does M=(5/6)K? Yes, because 10=(5/6)12.
Thus, we have found the correct values of M,J and K.
Total = M+J+K = 10+8+12 = 30.

The correct answer is B.
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by Shankenstein » Wed Jun 01, 2011 6:05 am
answer is 30$, B.
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by sivaelectric » Wed Jun 01, 2011 6:53 am
My choice too is B. Great explanation guys.

Shakenstein please post the answers in spoiler next time :)
If I am wrong correct me :), If my post helped let me know by clicking the Thanks button ;).

Chitra Sivasankar Arunagiri
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