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# The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes

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SVP
Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 2091
The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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Updated on: 12 Aug 2014, 01:19
2
29
00:00

Difficulty:

75% (hard)

Question Stats:

60% (02:30) correct 40% (02:04) wrong based on 503 sessions

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The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes to electronics in Jorge's suitcase initially stands at 8 to 5 to 3. Jorge then removes 4 pounds of clothing from his suitcase, thereby doubling the ratio of books to clothes. Approximately how much do the electronics in the suitcase weigh, to the nearest pound?

A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 6
E. 7

Originally posted by kidderek on 08 Nov 2006, 20:37.
Last edited by Bunuel on 12 Aug 2014, 01:19, edited 1 time in total.
Renamed the topic, edited the question, added the OA and moved to PS forum.
Manager
Joined: 03 Jan 2015
Posts: 80
Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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07 Apr 2016, 04:20
8
3
Given =

$$B : C : E$$
$$8 : 5 : 3$$

$$\frac{8x}{5x-4}$$ = $$\frac{16}{5}$$ ---> $$8x(5) = 16(5x - 4)$$ ---> $$40x = 80x - 64$$ ---> $$-40x = -64$$ ---> $$x = 1.6$$

$$1.6 * 3 = 4.8$$

##### General Discussion
Manager
Joined: 01 Oct 2006
Posts: 237
Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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08 Nov 2006, 23:00
1
I also go for C. Electronics weigh 4.8 pounds, approx 5
Director
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 871
Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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09 Nov 2006, 01:48
I am also getting C... however look at my calculations, why i am getting this?

b+c+e=16

b/c=8/5..... (1)
b/c-4=16/5.....(2)

From (1)
5b=8c
b=8/5c....include this in (2)

From (2)
5b=16c-64....include b from (1)
8c=16c-64
-8c=-64
c=8

If c=8, then b is
b/8=8/5
5b=64
b=12,8

12.8+8+e=16
20.8+e=16
e=-4.8..... why i'am getting this?
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Location: Singapore
Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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09 Nov 2006, 02:38
3
4
Ratio
B:C:E = 8:5:3

Total weight of items = x

Weight of books = 8x/16
Weight of clothes = 5x/16
Wegith of electronics = 3x/16

New total weight of items = (x-4)
Weight of clothes = 5x/16 - 4 = (5x-64)/16

New Ratio B:C:E =
8x/16(x-4) : (5x-64)/16(x-4) : 3x/16(x-4)
8x : 5x-64 : 3x

We're told B:C = 16:5
So B/C = 16/5 = 8x/5x-64
80x - 1024 = 40x
40x = 1025
x = 25.6

Electronics = 3x/16 = 4.8 pounds ~ 5 pounds
SVP
Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 2091
Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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09 Nov 2006, 07:32
ywilfred wrote:
Ratio
B:C:E = 8:5:3

Total weight of items = x

Weight of books = 8x/16
Weight of clothes = 5x/16
Wegith of electronics = 3x/16

New total weight of items = (x-4)
Weight of clothes = 5x/16 - 4 = (5x-64)/16

New Ratio B:C:E =
8x/16(x-4) : (5x-64)/16(x-4) : 3x/16(x-4)
8x : 5x-64 : 3x

We're told B:C = 16:5
So B/C = 16/5 = 8x/5x-64
80x - 1024 = 40x
40x = 1025
x = 25.6

Electronics = 3x/16 = 4.8 pounds ~ 5 pounds

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the question, but if the weights of the B:C:E is 12.8 : 8 : 4.8, and you take four pounds of clothes away, aren't you left with 12.8 : 4 : 4.8? But 12.8 is more than double 4.
Manager
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 161
Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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09 Nov 2006, 07:47
By removing the 4 pounds, you're doubling the original ratio - not making B double C. So the new ratio is 16/5
SVP
Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 2091
Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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09 Nov 2006, 08:28
1
hosam wrote:
By removing the 4 pounds, you're doubling the original ratio - not making B double C. So the new ratio is 16/5

thank you.

i gotta be more careful in reading these problems.
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Ambiguous interpretation... possible in real GMAT?  [#permalink]

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20 Jul 2009, 14:19
3
I was wondering if anyone else experienced confusion during the question. Take this example from MGMAT:

The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes to electronics in Jorge's suitcase initially stands at 8 to 5 to 3. Jorge then removes 4 pounds of clothing from his suitcase, thereby doubling the ratio of books to clothes. Approximately how much do the electronics in the suitcase weigh, to the nearest pound?

a) 3
b) 4
c) 5
d) 6
e) 7

When I hear, thereby "doubling" the ratio of books to clothes, I think that the book to clothes ratio become 2:1, which is colloquial but not correct.

Initially the ratio of B: C: E can be written as 8x: 5x: 3x. (Recall that ratios always employ a common multiplier to calculate the actual numbers.)
After removing 4 pounds of clothing, the ratio of books to clothes is doubled. To double a ratio, we double just the first number; in this case, doubling 8 to 5 yields a new ratio of 16 to 5. This can be expressed as follows:

8x/5x – 4 = 16/5.
Cross multiply to solve for x:
40x = 80x – 64
40x = 64
x = 8/5
The question asks for the approximate weight of the electronics in the suitcase. Since there are 3x pounds of electronics there are 3 × (8/5) = 24/5 or approximately 5 pounds of electronics in the suitcase.

However, I did 8x/5x – 4 = 2. => choice d)

I see how they mean "double" due to the technicalities of the english sentence but I would be really ticked off if this appeared on an actual GMAT. Is this MGMAT's lack of clarity or will the real GMAT use this tricky language?
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Re: Ambiguous interpretation... possible in real GMAT?  [#permalink]

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20 Jul 2009, 17:15
bipolarbear wrote:
The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes to electronics in Jorge's suitcase initially stands at 8 to 5 to 3. Jorge then removes 4 pounds of clothing from his suitcase, thereby doubling the ratio of books to clothes. Approximately how much do the electronics in the suitcase weigh, to the nearest pound?

There are quite a few details of the wording here which make it unlike a real GMAT question. The ratio in the question is unitless (it's the same ratio whether you measure the weights in nanograms, pounds or tons), so the phrase 'measured in pounds' is redundant and misleading. The phrase 'stands at' is a colloquialism, and not something that would appear in a real test question. When the question says Jorge's action doubles 'the ratio of books to clothes', that phrase is also misleading. The intended meaning is that it doubles 'the ratio of the weight of the books to the weight of the clothes'. One could easily think the statement was referring to the number of books, for example, and not their weight. No real GMAT question is ever so imprecise with its wording.

However, I don't have an issue with the phrase 'doubling the ratio'; ratios are fractions, so if you double a ratio, you're multiplying the first part of the ratio -- the numerator -- by 2.
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Manager
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Posts: 102
Location: Brazil
Re: Ambiguous interpretation... possible in real GMAT?  [#permalink]

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21 Jul 2009, 17:09
bipolarbear, If you have a question like that on Real GMAT, ask for IanStewart write for GMAC to cancel the question.....hehe

This explanation gave me hope. When I read the question I had the same impression: What exactly the question mean?
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Re: Ambiguous interpretation... possible in real GMAT?  [#permalink]

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21 Jul 2009, 20:49
Think that doubling ratio has a fairly straight forward meaning i.e. X:Y to double would result in 2X:Y
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Joined: 24 Sep 2016
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Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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08 May 2017, 07:14
B:C:E=8:5:3

B=8x & C=5x C'=C-4=5x-4

B:C'=8x/(5x-4)=2*8/5

40x=80x-64
=>36x=64
=>x=16/9

E=3 * 16/9 =5.33 ~~ 5 (C)
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Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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08 May 2017, 11:13
8x/(5x-4)=16/5
x=64/40
electronics=64/40*3=5(ans)
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Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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09 May 2017, 08:40
Ration of weights B:C:E = 8:5:3
Then weight of Book, Clothes and Electronics be 8a,5a,3a respectively.
After removing 4pounds from clothes B:C become 2*8:5
This gives, 8a/(5a-4) = 2*8/5
a = 1.6
So weight of electronics = 3*1.6 = 4.8 ~ 5
Intern
Joined: 28 Jun 2017
Posts: 1
Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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07 Jul 2017, 10:40
ywilfred wrote:
Ratio
B:C:E = 8:5:3

Total weight of items = x

Weight of books = 8x/16
Weight of clothes = 5x/16
Wegith of electronics = 3x/16

New total weight of items = (x-4)
Weight of clothes = 5x/16 - 4 = (5x-64)/16

New Ratio B:C:E =
8x/16(x-4) : (5x-64)/16(x-4) : 3x/16(x-4)
8x : 5x-64 : 3x

We're told B:C = 16:5
So B/C = 16/5 = 8x/5x-64
80x - 1024 = 40x
40x = 1025
x = 25.6

Electronics = 3x/16 = 4.8 pounds ~ 5 pounds

Could just be that it is a very long day, but can someone please explain how upon doubling 8x/5x-4, it becomes 16/5? I can't get past this step.
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Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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20 Jul 2017, 01:36
kidderek wrote:
The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes to electronics in Jorge's suitcase initially stands at 8 to 5 to 3. Jorge then removes 4 pounds of clothing from his suitcase, thereby doubling the ratio of books to clothes. Approximately how much do the electronics in the suitcase weigh, to the nearest pound?

A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 6
E. 7

B/C = 8/5
So 5B=8C -----Eqn1

B/C-4 = 16/5
So 5B=16C-64----Eqn2

Solving Eqn 1 & 2
8C=16C-64
So C=8

C/E=5/3
8/E=5/3
E=24/5 = 5
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Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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25 Jul 2017, 11:49
kidderek wrote:
The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes to electronics in Jorge's suitcase initially stands at 8 to 5 to 3. Jorge then removes 4 pounds of clothing from his suitcase, thereby doubling the ratio of books to clothes. Approximately how much do the electronics in the suitcase weigh, to the nearest pound?

A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 6
E. 7

We are given that the ratio of books to clothes to electronics = 8x : 5x : 3x. We are also given that Jorge removes 4 pounds of clothing from his suitcase, thereby doubling the ratio of books to clothes, from 8/5 to (2)(8)/5. Thus:

2(8)/5 = 8x/(5x - 4)

16(5x - 4) = 40x

80x - 64 = 40x

40x = 64

x = 64/40 = 1.6

Thus, we see the electronics weigh 3 x 1.6 = 4.8 or about 5 pounds.

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Re: The ratio by weight, measured in pounds, of books to clothes  [#permalink]

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06 Oct 2018, 11:39
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