Of the final grades received by the students in a certain

I guess the more staightforward way to do this is giving a variable for the total number of students, say T:

Then:
(1/5)T + (1/4)T + (1/2)T + 10 = T
T/5 + T/4 + T/2 + 10 = T
(4T + 5T + 10T) / 20 = T - 10 --> we multiplied with the LCM and moved 10 to the other side.
19T = 20 (T - 10)
19T = 20T - 200
T = 200, ANS D

HI All,

If you plan to take a "math approach" to this question, you might find that converting the fractions to decimals saves you some work:

1/5 = .2 are As
1/4 = .25 are Bs
1/2 = .5 are Cs
X = Total grades given

Sub-Total = .95(X) of the grades are A/B/C, so the other .05(X) are Ds

.05(X) = 10
5X = 1,000
X = 200

Final Answer:
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

I would rather use decimals for this question.
Grades A:0,2, B:0,25, C:0,5 and the remaining(0,2+0,25+0,5=0,95) 0,05*X=10 --> So, X=200 (D)

Hi All,

This question can also be solved by TESTing THE ANSWERS.

We're given data on the "breakdown" of grades in a course: 1/5 are A's, 1/4 are B's, 1/2 are C's, and the remaining 10 grades are D's. We're asked for the total number of students in the course.

Let's TEST Answer C: 160 students

Total = 160
1/5 are A's = 32
1/4 are B's = 40
1/2 are C's = 80
Sub-total = 152, which leaves 8 students with D's. This is TOO LOW (there are supposed to be 10 students with D's). Thus we need MORE total students.
Eliminate Answers A, B and C.

Since 8 is relatively close to 10, we probably don't need that many more students, so let's TEST D next....

Answer D: 200 students

Total = 200
1/5 are A's = 40
1/4 are B's = 50
1/2 are C's = 100
Sub-total = 190, leaving 10 for D's. This is a MATCH for what we were told, so this MUST be the answer.

Final Answer:
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

1/5 + 1/4 + 1/2 + x =1=T somehow

x= 1/20

1/20 T=10

T=200

We start by creating a variable for the total number of students in the math course. We can say:

T = Total number of students in the math course

Next, we can use variable T in an equation that we translate from the given information. We are given that, of the final grades received by the students in a certain math course, 1/5 are A's, 1/4 are B's, 1/2 are C's, and the remaining 10 grades are D's. Since this represents all the grades in the class, it represents all the students in the class. Thus we know:

#A’s + #B’s + #C’s + #D’s = Total number of students in the class

1/5(T) + ¼(T) + ½(T) + 10 = T

We can multiply the entire equation by 20 to cancel out the denominators of the fractions and we have:

4T + 5T + 10T + 200 = 20T

19T + 200 = 20T

200 = T

There are a total of 200 students in the math class.

Answer is D.

Hello from the GMAT Club BumpBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.