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# Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If

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Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor
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Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink]

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27 Jul 2015, 21:42
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Expert's post
dhawalbp wrote:
VeritasPrepKarishma wrote:
PareshGmat wrote:
I started up like this;
We require both tanks to have same amount of water i.e 350 gallons
means 150 gallons have to be removed from Tank X & 150 gallons have to be added to Tank Y

It will take $$\frac{150}{60K}$$ Hrs to remove water from Tank X & $$\frac{150}{60M}$$ Hrs to add water to Tank Y

I stuck at this point; Bunuel / Karishma can you please suggest how to continue using this approach

Your starting point is the problem Paresh. Think about it. There are two people standing on a number line, one at 200 and the other at 500. They have a distance of 300 steps between them. They want to meet by walking towards each other and hence be at the same point. Will they necessarily meet at the center point? No. It depends on their speed where they meet. If the person at 200 is very slow and the other very fast, they will meet very close to 200 because the person at 200 would not have covered much distance and most distance will be covered by the person at 500. Hence the assumption that both need to have 350 ml is incorrect. Perhaps the filling up of 200 gallon tank is very slow while the emptying of 500 gallon is very fast. Then they both might have equal volumes of 250 gallons.

Check out the posts above for alternative solutions.

karishma: What PareshGmat did was pretty right....The catch is if both tank X and y are taking same time say, t hr to equal the level that means rate M=K...so time taken t=150/(K*60)=5/(2K)=5/(K+M)

Did you read the explanation I gave to him on why his logic is not sound?
Having equal level of water does not mean they did equal work. After some time, they both could have been at 300 gallons. So the tank with 200 gallons would have increased its water level by 100 gallons and tank with 500 gallons would have decreased its water level by 200 gallons. Note that the second tank would have done twice the work as done by first tank in the same amount of time so in this case, its rate would be twice the rate of first tank.
They do have equal level at the end but to reach there, they might have done different amount of work. So their rate need not be equal. This is the catch of this question.
Kindly go through my explanation given above and then check out the solutions given here:

tanks-x-and-y-contain-500-and-200-gallons-of-water-respectiv-101762.html#p789043
tanks-x-and-y-contain-500-and-200-gallons-of-water-respectiv-101762.html#p1346155
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Get started with Veritas Prep GMAT On Demand for $199 Veritas Prep Reviews Kudos [?]: 17814 [2], given: 235 Current Student Joined: 12 Aug 2015 Posts: 300 Kudos [?]: 580 [0], given: 1474 Concentration: General Management, Operations GMAT 1: 640 Q40 V37 GMAT 2: 650 Q43 V36 GMAT 3: 600 Q47 V27 GPA: 3.3 WE: Management Consulting (Consulting) Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Jan 2016, 00:18 Plug-in SMART numbers and test options. M=20 and K=5, hence $$\frac{(500-200)}{(20+5)}$$ = 12 minutes to equalize the both which is 1/5 h. Answer A works _________________ KUDO me plenty Kudos [?]: 580 [0], given: 1474 Math Expert Joined: 02 Aug 2009 Posts: 5211 Kudos [?]: 5851 [0], given: 117 Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Jan 2016, 01:22 ichha148 wrote: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If water is being pumped out of tank X at a rate of K gallons per minute and water is being added to tank Y at a rate of M gallons per minute, how many hours will elapse before the two tanks contain equal amounts of water? A. $$\frac{5}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ B. $$6(M + K)\text{ hours}$$ C. $$\frac{300}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ D. $$\frac{300}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ E. $$\frac{60}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ m22 q17 Hi, the Q can be done in two steps... the total change, both filling in one and draining in other, equals 500-200=300.. what are the rates working towards it .. M+K gallons per minute or (M+K)*60 gallons per hour... $$answer =\frac{300}{{(M+K)*60 }}=\frac{5}{{M+K}}$$.. A _________________ Absolute modulus :http://gmatclub.com/forum/absolute-modulus-a-better-understanding-210849.html#p1622372 Combination of similar and dissimilar things : http://gmatclub.com/forum/topic215915.html Kudos [?]: 5851 [0], given: 117 Intern Joined: 02 Jul 2015 Posts: 38 Kudos [?]: 3 [0], given: 1 WE: Investment Banking (Investment Banking) Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Jan 2016, 02:01 Plug in numbers to find an answer. Lets take 250 gallons as the common amount that we need to reach with each tank. If water is pumped out of X at 5 gallons per min, it will take 50 mins to pump out 250 gallons (500 - 250 = 250 gallons left). If water is pumped into Y at 1 gallon per min, then in 50 mins, 50 gallons will be pumped in. Hence Y will also reach 250. It will take 50 mins or 5/6 hours for both of them to reach an equal level. M = 5, N = 1. Answer A = 5/6. Kudos [?]: 3 [0], given: 1 Intern Joined: 18 Jul 2015 Posts: 43 Kudos [?]: 13 [0], given: 33 Location: Brazil Concentration: General Management, Strategy GMAT 1: 640 Q39 V38 GMAT 2: 700 Q47 V38 Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink] ### Show Tags 05 Feb 2016, 12:00 Here is how I solve it: 500 gallons - 60K gallons per hour x HOUR = 200 gallons + 60M gallons per hour x HOUR Translating: 500-60kH=200+60mH 500-200=60mH+60kH 300=60H(m+k) 300/60(m+k)=H - simplify 5/(m+k)=h ANSWER A Kudos [?]: 13 [0], given: 33 Intern Joined: 30 Oct 2013 Posts: 38 Kudos [?]: [0], given: 51 Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink] ### Show Tags 05 Feb 2016, 20:10 Bunuel wrote: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If water is being pumped out of tank X at a rate of K gallons per minute and water is being added to tank Y at a rate of M gallons per minute, how many hours will elapse before the two tanks contain equal amounts of water? A. $$\frac{5}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ B. $$6(M + K)\text{ hours}$$ C. $$\frac{300}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ D. $$\frac{300}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ E. $$\frac{60}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ Say $$t$$ minutes are needed the two tanks to contain equal amounts of water, then we would have that $$500-kt=200+mt$$. Find $$t$$: $$t=\frac{300}{m+k}$$ minutes or $$\frac{1}{60}*\frac{300}{m+k}=\frac{5}{m+k}$$ hours. Answer: A. This approach is the one I can formulate easiest, however I do have two questions. 1) W = RT, which is why we take k*t and m*t is that correct? 2) Why do we use k and m, rather than 1/k and 1/m? Are we not supposed to use rates? Perhaps I'm missing what kt and mt really mean. Thanks Kudos [?]: [0], given: 51 Board of Directors Status: QA & VA Forum Moderator Joined: 11 Jun 2011 Posts: 3098 Kudos [?]: 1115 [0], given: 327 Location: India GPA: 3.5 WE: Business Development (Commercial Banking) Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink] ### Show Tags 06 Feb 2016, 10:22 ichha148 wrote: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If water is being pumped out of tank X at a rate of K gallons per minute and water is being added to tank Y at a rate of M gallons per minute, how many hours will elapse before the two tanks contain equal amounts of water? A. $$\frac{5}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ B. $$6(M + K)\text{ hours}$$ C. $$\frac{300}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ D. $$\frac{300}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ E. $$\frac{60}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ m22 q17 Good One , loved solving it !! I am attaching 2 Pics ( hope it helps) Attachment: Capacity.PNG [ 3.4 KiB | Viewed 593 times ] Attachment: Calculations.PNG [ 3.01 KiB | Viewed 593 times ] Hence IMHO (A) _________________ Thanks and Regards Abhishek.... PLEASE FOLLOW THE RULES FOR POSTING IN QA AND VA FORUM AND USE SEARCH FUNCTION BEFORE POSTING NEW QUESTIONS How to use Search Function in GMAT Club | Rules for Posting in QA forum | Writing Mathematical Formulas |Rules for Posting in VA forum | Request Expert's Reply ( VA Forum Only ) Kudos [?]: 1115 [0], given: 327 Intern Joined: 30 Nov 2012 Posts: 10 Kudos [?]: 2 [0], given: 1 Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink] ### Show Tags 12 Oct 2016, 19:11 Bunuel wrote: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If water is being pumped out of tank X at a rate of K gallons per minute and water is being added to tank Y at a rate of M gallons per minute, how many hours will elapse before the two tanks contain equal amounts of water? A. $$\frac{5}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ B. $$6(M + K)\text{ hours}$$ C. $$\frac{300}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ D. $$\frac{300}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ E. $$\frac{60}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ Say $$t$$ minutes are needed the two tanks to contain equal amounts of water, then we would have that $$500-kt=200+mt$$. Find $$t$$: $$t=\frac{300}{m+k}$$ minutes or $$\frac{1}{60}*\frac{300}{m+k}=\frac{5}{m+k}$$ hours. Answer: A. BUNUEL, pls explain me why t should be equal for both tanks. Why cant one tank take 10 min more to reach the same amount of water that another tank already has? Kudos [?]: 2 [0], given: 1 Intern Joined: 30 Nov 2012 Posts: 10 Kudos [?]: 2 [0], given: 1 Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink] ### Show Tags 12 Oct 2016, 19:21 VeritasPrepKarishma wrote: ichha148 wrote: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If water is being pumped out of tank X at a rate of K gallons per minute and water is being added to tank Y at a rate of M gallons per minute, how many hours will elapse before the two tanks contain equal amounts of water? A. $$\frac{5}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ B. $$6(M + K)\text{ hours}$$ C. $$\frac{300}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ D. $$\frac{300}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ E. $$\frac{60}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ m22 q17 This is a relative speed question. Distance to be covered together = 300 gallons (= 500 gallons - 200 gallons) Relative speed (rate of work) = (K+M) gallons per minute OR 60*(K+M) gallons per hour (The rates get added because they are working in opposite directions) Time taken = 300/60(K+M) hours = 5/(K+M) hours honestly, I didnt realize it is this type of question. Can you explain pls how to spot relative speed questions , especially in a different context like this one. thank you Kudos [?]: 2 [0], given: 1 Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor Joined: 16 Oct 2010 Posts: 7738 Kudos [?]: 17814 [1], given: 235 Location: Pune, India Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink] ### Show Tags 14 Oct 2016, 01:19 1 This post received KUDOS Expert's post alesia257 wrote: VeritasPrepKarishma wrote: ichha148 wrote: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If water is being pumped out of tank X at a rate of K gallons per minute and water is being added to tank Y at a rate of M gallons per minute, how many hours will elapse before the two tanks contain equal amounts of water? A. $$\frac{5}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ B. $$6(M + K)\text{ hours}$$ C. $$\frac{300}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$ D. $$\frac{300}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ E. $$\frac{60}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$ m22 q17 This is a relative speed question. Distance to be covered together = 300 gallons (= 500 gallons - 200 gallons) Relative speed (rate of work) = (K+M) gallons per minute OR 60*(K+M) gallons per hour (The rates get added because they are working in opposite directions) Time taken = 300/60(K+M) hours = 5/(K+M) hours honestly, I didnt realize it is this type of question. Can you explain pls how to spot relative speed questions , especially in a different context like this one. thank you It is not necessary to do it using the relative speed concept. You can do it using algebra too. But it is good if you recognise that there is an equivalence in time-speed-distance and work-rate-time. In fact, time-speed-distance is just a special case of work-rate-time. In this case, work done is the 'distance covered' and rate is the 'speed'. So the concepts of TSD can be applied to the generic work-rate case too. Distance covered is work done (300 gallons) Relative speed is relative rate of work = 60(K+M) So time taken = Distance/Speed = 300/60*(K+M) = 5/(K+M) hrs _________________ Karishma Veritas Prep | GMAT Instructor My Blog Get started with Veritas Prep GMAT On Demand for$199

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Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink]

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14 Oct 2016, 14:00
ichha148 wrote:
Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If water is being pumped out of tank X at a rate of K gallons per minute and water is being added to tank Y at a rate of M gallons per minute, how many hours will elapse before the two tanks contain equal amounts of water?

A. $$\frac{5}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$
B. $$6(M + K)\text{ hours}$$
C. $$\frac{300}{M + K}\text{ hours}$$
D. $$\frac{300}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$
E. $$\frac{60}{M - K}\text{ hours}$$

m22 q17

let h=number of hours
200+h*60M=500-h*60K
h*(60M+60K)=300
h=300/(60M+60K)
h=5/(M+K)
A.

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Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If [#permalink]

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14 Aug 2017, 14:59
work rate in hours for both 60(k+m)
total amount of work to be performed 500-200 = 300
then:
60(k+m) *x hours = 300
X hours = 300/60(k+m) = 5/(k+m)

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Re: Tanks X and Y contain 500 and 200 gallons of water respectively. If   [#permalink] 14 Aug 2017, 14:59

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