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# The ratio of spinsters to cats is 2 to 7. If there are 25

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Intern
Joined: 19 Jan 2010
Posts: 13
The ratio of spinsters to cats is 2 to 7. If there are 25 [#permalink]

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01 Jun 2012, 11:19
00:00

Difficulty:

5% (low)

Question Stats:

91% (01:05) correct 9% (01:24) wrong based on 90 sessions

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The ratio of spinsters to cats is 2 to 7. If there are 25 more cats than spinsters, how many spinsters are there?

A. 10
B. 12
C. 15
D. 18
E. 27
[Reveal] Spoiler: OA
Manager
Joined: 08 Apr 2012
Posts: 125

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01 Jun 2012, 23:18
1
KUDOS
phoenix9801 wrote:
The Book does not show any answers. Hence I need to figure out if I have done them correctly or not. Please help me if you can. Would greatly appropriate it. Thanks

The ratio of spinsters to cats is 2 to 7. If there are 25 more cats than spinsters, how many spinsters are there?
A) 10
B) 12
C) 15
D) 18
E) 27

Hi phoenix9801,

In these questions, you can easily notice that there are 2 variables: spinsters and cats and two facts provided. So it is a case of 2 equations in 2 variables.

Let no of spinsters and cats be S and C respectively.
Equation 1:
S/C = 2/7
=> 7S = 2C

Equation 2:
C = S + 25

Insert this in equation 1 => 7S = 2 (S + 25)
=> 7S = 2S + 50
=> 5S = 50
=> S = 10

Hope that helps.
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Shouvik
http://www.Edvento.com

Manager
Joined: 12 May 2012
Posts: 76
Location: India
Concentration: General Management, Operations
GMAT 1: 650 Q51 V25
GMAT 2: 730 Q50 V38
GPA: 4
WE: General Management (Transportation)

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02 Jun 2012, 02:29
1
KUDOS
phoenix9801 wrote:
The Book does not show any answers. Hence I need to figure out if I have done them correctly or not. Please help me if you can. Would greatly appropriate it. Thanks

The ratio of spinsters to cats is 2 to 7. If there are 25 more cats than spinsters, how many spinsters are there?
A) 10
B) 12
C) 15
D) 18
E) 27

Let the common multiplier for ratio be x
Such that Cats = 7x and Spinsters be 2x
cats-spins = 7x - 2x = 5x

but cats are 25 more than spinsters

5x=25; x=5

Spinsters = 2x = 2*5 = 10

A is my choice
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 44639
Re: The ratio of spinsters to cats is 2 to 7. If there are 25 [#permalink]

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02 Jun 2012, 06:59
2
KUDOS
Expert's post
phoenix9801 wrote:
The Book does not show any answers. Hence I need to figure out if I have done them correctly or not. Please help me if you can. Would greatly appropriate it. Thanks

The ratio of spinsters to cats is 2 to 7. If there are 25 more cats than spinsters, how many spinsters are there?

A. 10
B. 12
C. 15
D. 18
E. 27

Given: $$\frac{spinsters}{cats}=\frac{2x}{7x}$$ for some positive integer multiple $$x$$. Also given that $$7x-2x=25$$ --> $$x=5$$ --> $$spinsters=2x=10$$.

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SVP
Joined: 12 Sep 2015
Posts: 2310
Re: The ratio of spinsters to cats is 2 to 7. If there are 25 [#permalink]

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29 Dec 2017, 13:44
Expert's post
Top Contributor
phoenix9801 wrote:
The ratio of spinsters to cats is 2 to 7. If there are 25 more cats than spinsters, how many spinsters are there?

A. 10
B. 12
C. 15
D. 18
E. 27

Another option is to list equivalent ratios

GIVEN: The ratio of spinsters to cats is 2 to 7
So, it's possible that there are 2 spinsters and 7 cats [difference = 7 - 2 = 5.....we need a difference of 5]
It's also possible that there are 4 spinsters and 14 cats [difference = 14 - 4 = 10.....we need a difference of 5]
Or there are 6 spinsters and 21 cats [difference = 15.....we need a difference of 5]
Or there are 8 spinsters and 28 cats [difference = 20.....we need a difference of 5]
Or there are 10 spinsters and 35 cats [difference = 25.... BINGO!!!]

So, there are 10 spinsters

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Re: The ratio of spinsters to cats is 2 to 7. If there are 25   [#permalink] 29 Dec 2017, 13:44
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