Practice

SET

13.
The problem talks about Martina and Pam's incomes but never provides an actual dollar
value, either in the question or in the answer choices. We can, therefore, use smart numbers
to solve the problem. Because the dollar value is unspecified, we pick a dollar value with
which to solve the problem. To answer the question, we need to calculate dollar values for
the portion of income each earns during the ten months not including June and August, and
we also need to calculate dollar values for each player's annual income.

Let's start with Martina, who earns 1/6 of her income in June and 1/8 in August. The
common denominator of the two fractions is 24, so we set Martina's annual income at $24.
This means that she earns $4 (1/6 × 24) in June and $3 (1/8 × 24) in August, for a total of $7
for the two months. If Martina earns $7 of $24 in June and August, then she earns $17 during
the other ten months of the year.

The problem tells us that Pam earns the same dollar amount during the two months as
Martina does, so Pam also earns $7 for June and August. The $7 Pam earns in June and
August represents 1/3 + 1/4 of her annual income. To calculate her annual income, we solve
the equation: 7 = (1/3 + 1/4)x, with x representing Pam's annual income. This simplifies to 7
= (7/12)x or 12 = x. If Pam earns $7 of $12 in June and August, then she earns $5 during the
other ten months of the year. [NOTE: we cannot simply pick a number for Pam in the same
way we did for Martina because we are given a relationship between Martina's income and
Pam's income. It is a coincidence that Pam's income of $12 matches the common
denominator of the two fractions assigned to Pam, 1/3 and 1/4 - if we had picked $48 for
Martina's income, Pam's income would then have to be $24, not $12.]

Combined, the two players earn $17 + $5 = $22 during the other ten months, out of a
combined annual income of $24 + $12 = $36. The portion of the combined income earned
during the other ten months, therefore, is 22/36 which simplifies to 11/18.

Note first that you can also calculate the portion of income earned during June and August
and then subtract this fraction from 1. The portion of income earned during June and August,
7/18, appears as an answer choice, so be careful if you decide to solve it this way.

Note also that simply adding the four fractions given in the problem produces the number
7/8, an answer choice. 1/8 (or 1 – 7/8) is also an answer choice. These two answers are "too
good to be true" - that is, it is too easy to arrive at these numbers.

The correct answer is D.

14. This fraction problem contains an "unspecified" total (the x liters of water in the lake).
Pick an easy "smart" number to make this problem easier. Usually, the smart number is
 the lowest common denominator of all the fractions in the problem. However, if you pick
28, you will quickly see that this yields some unwieldy computation.
The easiest number to work with in this problem is the number 4. Let's say there are 4 liters
of water originally in the lake. The question then becomes: During which year is the lake
reduced to less than 1 liter of water?
At the end of 2076, there are 4 × (5/7) or 20/7 liters of water in the lake. This is not less than
1.
At the end of 2077, there are (20/7) × (5/7) or 100/49 liters of water in the lake. This is not
less than 1.
At the end of 2078, there are (100/49) × (5/7) or 500/343 liters of water in the lake. This is
not less than 1.
At the end of 2079, there are (500/343) × (5/7) or 2500/2401 liters of water in the lake. This
is not less than 1.
At the end of 2080, there are (2500/2401) × (5/7) or 12500/16807 liters of water in the lake.
This is less than 1.
Notice that picking the number 4 is essential to minimizing the computation involved, since
it is very easy to see when a fraction falls below 1 (when the numerator becomes less than the
denominator.) The only moderately difficult computation involved is multiplying the
denominator by 7 for each new year.
The correct answer is D.

15. This fraction problem contains an unspecified total (the number of married couples) and
is most easily solved by a picking a "smart" number for that total. The smart number is the
least common denominator of all the fractions in the problem. In this case, the smart number
is 20.
Let's say there are 20 married couples.
15 couples (3/4 of the total) have more than one child.
8 couples (2/5 of the total) have more than three children.
This means that 15 – 8 = 7 couples have either 2 or 3 children. Thus 7/20 of the married
couples have either 2 or 3 children.

The correct answer is C.

16. We can back solve this question by using the answer choices. Let’s first check to make
sure that each of the 5 possible prices for one candy can be paid using exactly 4 coins:
8 = 5+1+1+1
13 = 10+1+1+1
40 = 10+10+10+10
53 = 50+1+1+1
66 = 50+10+5+1

So far we can’t make any eliminations. Now let’s check two pieces of candy:

16 = 5 + 5 + 5 + 1
26 = 10 + 10 + 5 + 1
 80 = 25 + 25 + 25 + 5
106 = 50 + 50 + 5 + 1
132 = 50 + 50 + 25 + 5 + 1 + 1

We can eliminate answer choice E here. Now three pieces of candy:

24 = 10 + 10 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
39 = 25 + 10 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
120 = 50 + 50 + 10 + 10  
159 = 50 + 50 + 50 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1.

We can eliminate answer choices A, B and D.

Notice that at a price of 40¢, Billy can buy four and five candies with exactly 4 coins as well:
160 = 50 + 50 + 50 + 10
200 = 50 + 50 + 50 + 50