Of the votes cast on a certain proposal, 80 more were in favor of the proposal than were against it. If the number of

[Gmat_mission]

Of the votes cast on a certain proposal, 80 more were in favor of the proposal than were against it. If the number of votes against the proposal was 40 percent of the total vote, what was the total number of votes cast? (Each vote cast was either in favor of the proposal or against it).

(A) 480
(B) 400
(C) 300
(D) 240
(E) 160

Answer: B

Source: Princeton Review

[deloitte247]

Let total votes cast = t
Votes against the proposal = 40% of t = 0.4t
Votes in favour = 0.4t + 80
t = 0.4t + 0.4t + 80
t = 0.8t + 80
t - 0.8t = 80
0.2t = 80
$$t=\frac{80}{0.2}=400$$
Answer = option B

[Scott@TargetTestPrep]

Of the votes cast on a certain proposal, 80 more were in favor of the proposal than were against it. If the number of votes against the proposal was 40 percent of the total vote, what was the total number of votes cast? (Each vote cast was either in favor of the proposal or against it).

(A) 480
(B) 400
(C) 300
(D) 240
(E) 160

Answer: B

Solution:

We can let n = the total number of votes. Thus, 0.4n votes were against the proposal, and 0.6n votes were in favor of the proposal. We can create the equation:

0.6n - 0.4n = 80

0.2n = 80

n = 80/0.2 = 800/2 = 400

Answer: B