If 1 tic equals 3 tacs and 2 tacs equal 5 tocs, what is the

yeah, this question is not hard...the reason i even posted it is b/c i keep getting 2/15..which is not one of the answer choices...i got this from the Kaplan math workbook and they say that the answer is 15/2...which i CAN NOT get!!!...so either the book has a wrong answer solution, or i'm still doing it wrong....but here's how i calculated it...

i double checked the question and i wrote it down correctly and solution refers to it correctly also, so i'll assume the question is correct, but here's what we have:

1 tic = 3 tacs
2 tacs = 5 tocs

we want 1 tic/1 toc

so i'll make it simple by reducing tocs down to 1 toc = 2/5 tacs

so to get 1tic/1toc you can set up this equation:

1tic/3tacs x 2/5 tacs/1toc the tacs cancel and with algebra you get

2/5 tic / 3 toc which equals 2/15

did i mess up somewhere??

Make it simple:

1 toc=2/5 tacs
1 tic=3 tacs

(1tic/1toc)=3 tacs / (2/5 tacs) = 15/2

I thought this is the way to go about these questions...

1 tic for 3 tacs = 1:3
2 tac for 5 tocs = 2:5

U then multiply the common term between the two that would then make them equal in both ratios, i.e.

(1:3)*2
(2:5)*3

New combined ratio...

2:6:15

Ratio for Tic/Toc = 2/15

Not sure why the answer is 15/2. Doesn't make sense. Tic is the largest of the group and to say for every 15 there are 2 tocs doesn't make sense. It should be the other way around no?

I absolutely agree with andyd... can anybody explain please? it doesnt matter how I twist it around i always get 2:15.... other solution doesnt make any sense to me

Many thanks!!!

If 1 tic equals 3 tacs and 2 tacs equal 5 tocs, what is the ratio of one tic to one toc?
A. 15/2
B. 6/5
C. 5/6
D. 3/10
E. 1/15

Tic=3*Tac and 2*Tac=5*Toc;
2*Tic=6*Tac and 6*Tac=15*Toc --> 2*Tic=15*Toc --> Tic/Toc=15/2.

Answer: A.

Guys, there is a difference between (a equals b) and (ratio of a to b).

That is why you´re getting wrong answers.

Example:

If you´re given that A equals 3B, the ratio of A to B should be 3 (the same as A divided by B).

This is why you got 2/15 instead of 15/2.

IF 1 A EQUALS 2 B. WHAT IS THE RATIO OF A TO B?
IS IT 1/3 OR 3?
IF 1DOLLAR EQUALS 100CENTS, WHAT IS THE RATIO OF DOLLAR TO CENT? 1/100 OR 100/1?
Can somebody help me out?

manhattan187 really explained it technically. Thanks a lot cos I got an idea from that. GMAT's unusual way of testing the too fundamental!

Now lemme humbly share to all how I just nailed that elementary arithmetic with a market place knowledge.

,100 cents make one dollar. 10 cents make a dime.
how many dimes are in a dollar?
.
.
.
.
.
you nailed it! 10! ten dimes are in one dollar.
now what is the ratio of dime to dollar?
is it 10?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1/10! you nailed it!
You know that 10dimes make a dollar. right? what does it mean to say ratio of one dime to one dollar? I mean in literal economic sense. (tip: 10/2 means 10 things is being shared equally by two persons. so it means how many 2s do u get in a 10?. answer is 5two.)
.
.
So the ratio of one dime to one dollar is dime/dollar. i.e. how many dollars do you get in a dime?
... of course you don't get up to a dollar in a dime.
you just get (1/10) dollars.

PS: still kudos to us in the annoying tic question for wrongly solving to get 2/15 and rightly use our commonsense to know that since you should get too many tocs in a freaking tic, therefore the answer must be more than one. So u quickly guessed by choosing the option that inverts what you've got from a good albeit imperfect thought process knowing that time is running out.

Since 1 tic = 3 tacs, then 2 tics = 6 tacs.

Since 2 tacs = 5 tocs, then 6 tacs = 15 tocs.

Thus, 2 tics = 15 tocs and hence 1 tic = 15/2 tocs.

Answer: A

perfect explanation why 2/15 get twisted

We are asked the ratio of tic to toc, which is basically what would the fraction of tic to toc equal: tic/toc=?

Method 1 (using conversion factors):

1toc x 2tacs/5tocs x 1tic/3tacs= 2/15 tic

Hence 1 toc = 2/15 tic
Therefore, tic/toc = 15/2

Method 2 (using ratios):

The ratio of tic to tac is 3 to 1 or 15 to 5 (using a multiplier of 5) and the ratio of tac to toc is 5 to 2
Hence, the ratio of tic to toc is 15 to 2.

Correct answer is A

Similar question for practice: https://gmatclub.com/forum/if-35-skips- ... 17641.html