An alternate approach:
Since the monthly rent is split equally among 3 people, the total rent must be a multiple of 3. That gives me a quick elimination strategy. I’ll reject all answer choices that are not multiples of 3.
- Option A: 1,575
Add the digits: 1 + 5 + 7 + 5 = 18 → divisible by 3. ✅ Possible. I’ll park this. - Option B: 1,075
Add the digits: 1 + 0 + 7 + 5 = 13 → not divisible by 3. ❌ Rejected. - Option C: 1,025
Add the digits: 1 + 0 + 2 + 5 = 8 → not divisible by 3. ❌ Rejected. - Option D: 825
Add the digits: 8 + 2 + 5 = 15 → divisible by 3. ✅ Possible. I’ll park this. - Option E: 775
Add the digits: 7 + 7 + 5 = 19 → not divisible by 3. ❌ Rejected.
So, I’m left with just A (1,575) and D (825).
Step 2. Think about Jonathan’s shareJonathan’s total = rent share + $250 pet deposit = $525.
So, his rent share alone would be somewhere around $300.
- If the total rent were 1,575, then each person’s share would be more than $500.
That’s way too high compared to around $300 I’m expecting. So, A doesn’t fit.
- If the total rent were 825, then each person’s share would be a bit less than 300 - between 250 and 300.
That matches! Adding the $250 pet deposit would bring me to 525, which is what Jonathan actually paid.
Note: I have tried to share how exactly I processed the question in my mind.
525 - 250 =275.
1575/3 is also not a difficult calculation.
However, I realized that I don’t even need to get that precise with my calculations. Just realizing that each person’s share of the rent would be around $300 (525 - 275), and according to option A, each person’s share of the rent would be more than $500 was enough to decide that 1575 is too high.