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A grocery store sells boxes of two kinds of cereals, wheat-based and rice-based. In this store, the average weight of a box of rice-based cereal is 60 ounces, the average weight of a box of wheat-based cereal is 48 ounces, and the average weight of all the boxes of cereal is 50 ounces. What is the ratio in this store of boxes of rice-based cereals to wheat-based cereals?
A. 1/12
B. 1/6
C. 1/5
D. 1/4
E. 1/3
One approach is to use
weighted averagesWeighted average of groups combined = (group A proportion)(group A average) + (group B proportion)(group B average) + (group C proportion)(group C average) + ...Let R = number of boxes of rice-based cereal
Let W = number of boxes of wheat-based cereal
So, R+W = TOTAL number of boxes of cereal
Also, R/(R + W) = proportion of cereal boxes that are rice-based
And W/(R + W) = proportion of cereal boxes that are wheat-based
Plug all values into the above formula. . .
We get: 50 = [R/(R + W)](60) + [W/(R + W)](48)
Multiply both sides by (R+W) to get: 50(R + W) = 60R + 48W
Expand to get: 50R + 50W = 60R + 48W
Rearrange: 2W = 10R
Rearrange more: 2/10 = R/W
Simplify: R/W = 1/5
What is the ratio in this store of boxes of rice-based cereals to wheat-based cereals? R/W = 1/5
Answer: C
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