Hi All,
We're told that the ratio of paperback books to hardcover books is 22 to 3. We're asked for the number of paperback books on the shelf. To start, we know that the number of paperback books MUST be a multiple of 22 and the number of hardcover books MUST be an equivalent multiple of 3. By extension, the TOTAL number of books MUST be a multiple of 25.
1) The number of books on the shelf is between 202 and 247, inclusive.
Fact 1 gives us a 'range' of possible totals. However, since the total number of books MUST be a multiple of 25, there's ONLY ONE option here: 225. We know that 22 out of every 25 books are paperbacks, thus the number of paperback books is (9)(22) = 198
Fact 1 is SUFFICIENT
2) If 18 paperback books were removed from the shelf and replaced with 18 hardcover books, the resulting ratio of paperback books to hardcover books on the shelf would be 4 to 1
With Fact 2, we can set up an equation based on the 'starting' number of books and the 'ending ratio of books:
Paperback/Hardcover = 22X/3X
After replacing 18 paperbacks with 18 hardcovers, we have...
(22X - 18)/(3X + 18) = 4/1
We can now solve for X...
22X - 18 = 12X + 72
10X = 90
X = 9
Therefore, the number of paperback books (22X) is (22)(9) = 198
Fact 2 is SUFFICIENT
Final Answer:
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich