GMAT Official Guide 2019 In a recent town election

[B BTGmoderatorDC]

In a recent town election, what was the ratio of the number of votes in favor of a certain proposal to the number of votes against the proposal?

(1) There were 60 more votes in favor of the proposal than against the proposal.
(2) There were 240 votes in favor of the proposal.

[Jay@ManhattanReview]

In a recent town election, what was the ratio of the number of votes in favor of a certain proposal to the number of votes against the proposal?

(1) There were 60 more votes in favor of the proposal than against the proposal.
(2) There were 240 votes in favor of the proposal.

We have to find out the ratio of the number of votes in favor of a certain proposal to the number of votes against the proposal

Say,

the number of votes in favor of a certain proposal = x, and
the number of votes against the proposal = y

Thus, we have to get the value of x/y.

Let's take each statement one by one.

(1) There were 60 more votes in favor of the proposal than against the proposal.

=> x = 60 + y

We can't get the value of x/y. Insufficient

(2) There were 240 votes in favor of the proposal.

x = 240. We don't have the value of y. Insufficient

(1) and (2) together

From (2), we have x = 240 and from (1), we have x = 60 + y, thus, y = 240 – 60 = 180.

Thus, x/y = 240/180 = 4/3. Sufficient.

The correct answer: C

Hope this helps!

-Jay
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[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

In a recent town election, what was the ratio of the number of votes in favor of a certain proposal to the number of votes against the proposal?

(1) There were 60 more votes in favor of the proposal than against the proposal.
(2) There were 240 votes in favor of the proposal.

Let F = the number of votes in FAVOR of the proposal
Let A = the number of votes AGAINST the proposal

Target question: What is the value of F/A?

Statement 1: There were 60 more votes in favor of the proposal than against the proposal.
In other words, F = A + 60
Let's TEST some values.
There are several values of F and A that satisfy the equation F = A + 60. Here are two:
Case a: F = 70 and A = 10. In this case, the answer to the target question is F/A = 70/10
Case b: F = 80 and A = 20. In this case, the answer to the target question is F/A = 80/20
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: There were 240 votes in favor of the proposal.
In other words, F = 240
Since we have no information about the number of votes AGAINST the proposal (i.e., the value of A), we cannot answer the target question.
So, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statements 1 and 2 combined
Statement 1 tells us that F = A + 60
Statement 2 tells us that F = 240
When we use BOTH statements, we can conclude that A = 180 (and F = 240)
So, the answer to the target question is F/A = 240/180
Since we can answer the target question with certainty, the combined statements are SUFFICIENT

Answer: C

Cheers,
Brent

[Scott@TargetTestPrep]

In a recent town election, what was the ratio of the number of votes in favor of a certain proposal to the number of votes against the proposal?

(1) There were 60 more votes in favor of the proposal than against the proposal.
(2) There were 240 votes in favor of the proposal.

Solution:

Question Stem Analysis:

We need to determine the ratio of the number of votes in favor of a certain proposal to the number of votes against the proposal. We can let the number of votes in favor and against the proposal be f and a, respectively, so we need to determine the value of f/a.

Statement One Alone:

With the information in statement one, we can create the equation:

f = a + 60

With one equation and two variables, we can’t determine the value of f (or a). Hence, we can’t determine the value of f/a. Statement one alone is not sufficient.

Statement Two Alone:

With the information in statement two, we can create the equation:

f = 240

Without the value of a, we can’t determine the value of f/a. Statement two alone is not sufficient.

Statements One and Two Together:

With the two statements, we see that:

f = a + 60

and

f = 240

Substituting 240 for f in the first equation, we have:

240 = a + 60

180 = a

Therefore, the value of f/a = 240/180 = 4/3. In other words, the ratio of the number of votes in favor of the proposal to the number of votes against it is 4 to 3. Both statements together are sufficient.

Answer: C