The present ratio of students to teachers at a certain school is 30 to 1. If the student enrollment were to increase by

BTGModeratorVI wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 16, 2021 8:09 am

The present ratio of students to teachers at a certain school is 30 to 1. If the student enrollment were to increase by 50 students and the number of teachers were to increase by 5, the ratio of students to teachers would then be 25 to 1. What is the present number of teachers?

(A) 5
(B) 8
(C) 10
(D) 12
(E) 15

Source: official guide
Answer: E

I prefer to use two variables for these "changing ratios" questions.

The PRESENT ratio of students to teachers at a certain school is 30 to 1
Let S = # of students PRESENTLY
Let T = # of teachers PRESENTLY
We can write: S/T = 30/1
Cross multiply to get: (1)(S) = (30)(T)
Simplify: S = 30T

If the student enrollment were to increase by 50 students and the number of teachers were to increase by 5, the ratio of students to teachers would then be 25 to 1
In this scenario...
S + 50 = # of students
T + 5 = # of teachers
So, we get: (S + 50)/(T + 5) = 25/1
Cross multiply to get: (S + 50)(1) = (25)(T + 5)
Expand: S + 50 = 25T + 125
Simplify to get: S = 25T + 75

We now have 2 equations with 2 variables:
S = 30T
S = 25T + 75

To solve, replace S in the bottom equation with 30T
We get: 30T = 25T + 75
So: 5T = 75
Solve: T = 15
So, there are PRESENTLY 15 teachers

Answer: E

Cheers,
Brent