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Punkte1279
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 #2
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In Linguistics 101, the ratio of the number of juniors to the number of seniors is 3:2.  When six more juniors join the class, and one senior drops the class, the ratio of the number of juniors to the number of seniors becomes 2:3.  How many students are in the class after these changes?

 

I can tell you right now that increasing the number     

of juniors will not invert the ratio.  But I'll go through    

the motions for you anyway.     

 

                                                       J          3   

                                                      ––   =   ––  

                                                       S          2     

 

                                                   J + 6          2   

                                                   ––––   =   –––   

                                                   S – 1          3        

 

Cross multiply both                            2J  =  3S            (eq 1)  

                                                  3J + 18  =  2S – 2      (eq 2)      

 

Get either J or S in terms of the   

other.  It doesn't matter which, but  

J would be simpler.  From eq 1:            J  =  3S/2      

 

Substitute this in eq 2                (3) • (3S/2) + 18  =  2S – 2    

 

                                                            9S/2 + 18  =  2S – 2     

 

Multiply both sides by 2                          9S + 36  =  4S – 4    

 

Subtract 4S from both sides                   5S + 36  =  –4   

 

Subtract 36 from both sides                           5S  =  –40  

 

                                                                         S  =  –8  

 

You cannot have a negative number of seniors    

so something is wrong somewhere.  The error     

is in the initial proposition.  This problem has ...... no solution.    

 

In a different problem that I solved, the solution depended on accepting  

the concept of negative money.  Well, we *sort of* do have such a thing        

as that, it's called debt.  But I can't rationalize negative students.  LOL.    

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27.07.2023
 #2
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Pearl writes down seven consecutive integers, and adds them up. The sum of the integers is equal to 21 times the largest of the seven integers. What is the smallest integer that Pearl wrote down?  

 

Let the first integer be represented by x.   

Since the integers are consecutive, each following   

integer is one more than the integer before it.  

 

(x)  +  (x + 1)  +  (x + 2)  +  (x + 3)  +  (x + 4)  +  (x + 5)  +  (x + 6)  =  (21) • (x + 6)    

 

                                                             7x + 21  =  21x + 126    

 

                                                                 –14x  =  105     

 

                                                                       x  =  –7.5    

 

check answer    

 

(–7.5) + (–7.5 + 1) + (–7.5 + 2) + (–7.5 + 3) + (–7.5 + 4) + (–7.5 + 5) + (–7.5 + 6)  =  21 • (–7.5 + 6)    

 

(–7.5) +    (–6.5)    +    (–5.5)    +    (–4.5)    +    (–3.5)    +    (–2.5)    +    (–1.5)     =  21 • (–1.5)    

 

                                                                                                                      –31.5  =  –31.5   

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25.07.2023