GMAT Question of the Day - Daily to your Mailbox; hard ones only

 It is currently 20 Oct 2018, 10:15

# Saturday Quant Quiz:

Starts promptly at 10 AM PST - Join in to Have Fun & Win Prizes

### GMAT Club Daily Prep

#### Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

# S96-13

Author Message
TAGS:

### Hide Tags

Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 50007

### Show Tags

16 Sep 2014, 01:51
00:00

Difficulty:

55% (hard)

Question Stats:

60% (01:51) correct 40% (02:05) wrong based on 52 sessions

### HideShow timer Statistics

A total of $$j$$ dollars is given to Abby, Bill, and Carla and divided equally among them. Then Abby gives Bill $$k$$ dollars, Bill gives Carla $$2k$$ dollars, and Carla gives Abby $$3k$$ dollars. Afterwards, Abby has exactly half of all the dollars given to the three people. In terms of $$k$$, how much money was given originally to Abby, Bill, and Carla?

A. $$4k$$
B. $$6k$$
C. $$8k$$
D. $$12k$$
E. $$16k$$

_________________
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 50007

### Show Tags

16 Sep 2014, 01:51
Official Solution:

A total of $$j$$ dollars is given to Abby, Bill, and Carla and divided equally among them. Then Abby gives Bill $$k$$ dollars, Bill gives Carla $$2k$$ dollars, and Carla gives Abby $$3k$$ dollars. Afterwards, Abby has exactly half of all the dollars given to the three people. In terms of $$k$$, how much money was given originally to Abby, Bill, and Carla?

A. $$4k$$
B. $$6k$$
C. $$8k$$
D. $$12k$$
E. $$16k$$

Taking a "direct algebra" approach, we can see that each of the three people receives $$\frac{j}{3}$$ dollars. During the swaps, Abby gives away $$k$$ dollars but receives $$3k$$ dollars, so her total increases by $$2k$$ dollars. Her final total is half of the original amount of money, or $$\frac{j}{2}$$. Now we can write an equation:
$$\frac{j}{3} + 2k = \frac{j}{2}$$

Now solve for $$j$$ in terms of $$k$$. First, multiply through by 6 to eliminate fractions:
$$2j + 12k = 3j$$
$$12k = j$$

This is our answer. We can also solve by picking a number for $$j$$, but realize that we cannot separately pick numbers for $$j$$ and $$k$$ - after all, that would determine the very relationship the question is asking us for. Moreover, it's difficult to know ahead of time what would be a good test number for $$j$$. Seeing 2 and 3 as coefficients within the problem, we might pick $6 as the total. Then each of the people receives$2. Abby has to wind up with $3 (half of$6) when all is said and done, so she has to increase her total by $1. Since she gives away $$k$$ dollars but receives $$3k$$ dollars, she increases her total by $$2k$$ dollars. This tells us that $$k$$ is$0.50, so $$j$$ is 12 times bigger. However, this reasoning doesn't save us a whole lot of work. Direct algebra is just as fast.

_________________
Intern
Joined: 09 Jul 2015
Posts: 15
Location: India
GPA: 3
WE: Analyst (Consulting)

### Show Tags

04 Oct 2016, 22:29
In this question we are asked the individual share that each had or the total sum of money?
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 50007

### Show Tags

05 Oct 2016, 02:28
sommya wrote:
In this question we are asked the individual share that each had or the total sum of money?

We need to find the total amount of money that was given originally to Abby, Bill, and Carla.
_________________
RC Moderator
Joined: 24 Aug 2016
Posts: 401
Concentration: Entrepreneurship, Operations
GMAT 1: 630 Q48 V28

### Show Tags

18 Sep 2018, 13:18
x given to each A, B & C. j=3x

.......................A...............B................C

initial : ..............x...............x...............x
A gives B , K:...x-k.............x+k.............x
B gives C , 2K:.x-k.............x-k.........x+2k
C gives A , 3K:...x+2k.........x-k...........x-k

Now, 2(x+2k) = 3x ==> x=4k ==>j=12k ansD
_________________

Please let me know if I am going in wrong direction.
Thanks in appreciation.

Intern
Joined: 14 Sep 2018
Posts: 5
Location: United States (NJ)
Schools: CBS
GPA: 3.87

### Show Tags

12 Oct 2018, 21:08
I also found the wording of the question confusing: "how much money was given originally to Abby, Bill, and Carla", I interpreted it as how much money each of them got.
Re: S96-13 &nbs [#permalink] 12 Oct 2018, 21:08
Display posts from previous: Sort by

# S96-13

Moderators: chetan2u, Bunuel

 Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group | Emoji artwork provided by EmojiOne Kindly note that the GMAT® test is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council®, and this site has neither been reviewed nor endorsed by GMAC®.