Of the people who responded to a market survey, 120 preferred Brand X

Question

Of the people who responded to a market survey, 120 preferred Brand X and the rest preferred Brand Y. If the respondents indicated a preference for Brand X over Brand Y by ratio of 3 to 1, how many people responded to the survey?

A. 80
B. 160
C. 240
D. 360
E. 480

A. 80
B. 160
C. 240
D. 360
E. 480

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi NYCgirl15,

You'll see several ratio-based questions on the GMAT, so this is a good area to put some extra practice into. There are also a variety of different ways to do the math involved in this question, so you can choose whatever method is easiest for you.

Here, we're told that, in a survey, 120 people preferred Brand X and the rest preferred Brand Y. We're then told that these results represent a ratio of 3 to 1,

X:Y
3:1

This means that THREE TIMES as many people prefer Brand X as prefer Brand Y. We can now "line up" the data and do some basic math..

X:Y
3:1
120:Rest

Since 120 is "40 times 3", the "Rest" has to be "40 times 1."

120 prefer Brand X
40 prefer Brand Y

We're asked for the TOTAL number of people surveyed...

120 + 40 = 160 people in total were surveyed.

Final Answer:  B

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

King407 · Answer

Ratio = 3:1 => 3x respondents preferred Brand X and x preferred Brand Y

Since, no. of respondents who preferred Brand X = 120 => 3x=120 => x=40

Hence Total no. of respondents = 120 + 40 = 160

Hence B is the asnwer.

KarishmaB · Answer

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BrentGMATPrepNow · Answer

We can solve this question by using  equivalent ratios

We'll use the ratio:  preferred Brand X / preferred Brand Y  
Given:  120  preferred Brand X 
Let  y  = the number of people who preferred Brand Y

We get:  120 / y  =  3 / 1 
Cross multiply to get: 3y = 120
Solve: y =  40

So,  120  people preferred Brand X, and  40  people preferred Brand Y
TOTAL number of people =  120  +  40  = 160

Answer: B

Cheers,
Brent

RELATED VIDEO 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yegch7sv6MY

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

We can let x = the number of people who prefer Brand Y and 3x = the number of people who prefer Brand X. We can create the equation:

3x = 120

x = 40

Therefore, a total of 40 + 120 = 160 people were surveyed.

Answer: B

MathRevolution · Answer

Total: X + Y

Total: 120 + Y

X: Y = 3:1  =   = 3:1.Hence, Y = 40

Total: 120 + 40 = 160

Answer B

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Of the people who responded to a market survey, 120 preferred Brand X

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