e-GMAT
If the ratio of the present age of Anna and Paula is 1:2, what could be the ratio of their respective ages 8 years ago?
A. 3:8
B. 4:7
C. 3:5
D. 2:3
E. 4:5
OA A.
If the ratio of the present age of Anna and Paula is 1:2,
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With a little thinking, no calculations are necessary with this question.AAPL wrote:e-GMAT
If the ratio of the present age of Anna and Paula is 1:2, what could be the ratio of their respective ages 8 years ago?
A. 3:8
B. 4:7
C. 3:5
D. 2:3
E. 4:5
OA A.
Anna is currently half of Paula's age.
In subtracting a fixed number, 8, from each, it should be clear that the percentage reduction in Anna's age is greater than that for Paula.
So the ratio 8 years ago should be less than the ratio now. Conveniently, only one of the choices [spoiler]A 3/8[/spoiler] is less than 1/2
- fskilnik@GMATH
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I do believe regor60 ´s solution is as good as it gets!AAPL wrote:e-GMAT
If the ratio of the present age of Anna and Paula is 1:2, what could be the ratio of their respective ages 8 years ago?
A. 3:8
B. 4:7
C. 3:5
D. 2:3
E. 4:5
The alternate approach I offer (below) is for a "fictitious scenario" in which at least two alternative choices were (a priori) possible!
(To be honest: I would not have regor60´s idea... therefore my solution below - less smart, less efficient - would be the way I would proceed...that´s life!)
In "Which of the following..." questions we (usually) "test" each choice offered, but before that, let´s follow our method: explicit the FOCUS and relate it to DATA:
\[\begin{array}{*{20}{c}}
{A = k} \\
{P = 2k}
\end{array}\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\left( {k > 0} \right)\]
\[?\,\,\,\,\,:\,\,\,\,\,\,\frac{{k - 8}}{{2k - 8}}\,\,\, = \,\,\,\underline {{\text{altern}}{\text{.}}\,\,{\text{choice}}} \,\,\,,\,\,\,{\text{which?}}\]
\[\left( A \right)\,\,\,\,\frac{3}{8}\,\,\,\mathop = \limits^? \,\,\,\frac{{k - 8}}{{2k - 8}}\,\,\,\,\, \Leftrightarrow \,\,\,\,\,3\left( {2k - 8} \right)\,\,\mathop = \limits^? \,\,8\left( {k - 8} \right)\,\,\,\, \Leftrightarrow \,\,\, \ldots \,\,\, \Leftrightarrow \,\,k\,\mathop = \limits^? 20\]
\[k = 20 > 0\,\,{\text{viable}}\,\,\,\,\,\,\left( {A = 20{\text{y}}\,\,\,,\,\,\,\,P = 40{\text{y}}} \right)\,\,\,\,\, \Rightarrow \,\,\,{\text{we}}\,\,{\text{are}}\,\,{\text{done!}}\]
(Other alternative choices must get nonpositive values for k, but you don´t need to check that: it is the examiner´s burden to offer only one correct/viable alternative choice among all presented!)
This solution follows the notations and rationale taught in the GMATH method.
Regards,
fskilnik.
Fabio Skilnik :: GMATH method creator ( Math for the GMAT)
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Some possible ratios of ages are:AAPL wrote:e-GMAT
If the ratio of the present age of Anna and Paula is 1:2, what could be the ratio of their respective ages 8 years ago?
A. 3:8
B. 4:7
C. 3:5
D. 2:3
E. 4:5
A/P = 8/16, 9/18, 10/20, 11/22, 12/24, 13/26, 14/28, 15/30, 16/32, 17/34, 18/36, 19/38, 20/40
So 8 years ago, these ratios would be:
A/P = 0/8, 1/10, 2/12, 3/14, 4/16, 5/18, 6/20, 7/22, 8/24, 9/26, 10/28, 11/30, 12/32.
We see that if Anna is 20 and Paula is 40, the ratio of their ages 8 years ago is 12/32 = 3/8.
Alternate Solution:
Let the present age of Ann be x. Since the ratio of present age of Ann to the present age of Paula is 1:2, the present age of Paula must be 2x.
8 years ago, Ann's age was x - 8 and Paula's age was 2x - 8; therefore the ratio of their ages was (x - 8)/(2x - 8). Let's set this expression equal to each answer choice and see which one gives a positive integer value for x:
A) (x - 8)/(2x - 8) = 3/8
8x - 64 = 6x -24
2x = 40
x = 20
We see that answer choice A gives us a positive integer value for x, so it must be the correct answer choice. Indeed, the ratio of present age of Ann to present age of Paula is 20/40 and the ratio of Ann's age 8 years ago to Paula's age 8 years ago is 12/32 = 3/8.
Answer: A
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