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Re: a few more general GRE math problems

Subject: Re: a few more general GRE math problems
From: Daniel Mayost
Date: 31 Dec 2006 05:52:26 -0500
Newsgroups: sci.math
In article <1167557963.377775.165150@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
john <johnboy98105@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>These ones either I got them wrong or guessed and got them right.
>
>Q1:
>
>Average (arithmetic mean) of Test Scores in Class R
>Average scores for the boys 90
>Average scores for the girls 81
>Average scores for the class 84
>
>What is greater? The number of boys in the class who took the test  or
>The number of girls in the class who took the test.
>
>A1: the number of girls took the test is greater.
>
>I got so confused on this... Some tips will be welcome
>

Formally, if there are b boys and g girls in the class we have, by 
equating the total scores we get:

90 b + 81 g = 84 (b+g)

6b = 3g

2b = g

There are thus twice as many girls as boys in the class.

>
>
>Q2:
>  x > 1
>  y > 1
>
>What is greater?  1 / ( 1/x + 1/y)  or 1/x + 1/y     that is...
>
>a.                                   b.
>         1                                 1            1
>-------------------          or          -------  +   ------
>   1         1                             x           y
>-------  + ------
>   x         y
>
>
>
>A2: Need more information to determine the relationship.
>
>
>I got this one wrong after plugging in x = 2, y = 3
>
>so i figured....
>
>a.   xy                      b.   y + x
>   ----------                       ----------
>    x + y                           xy
>
>       6/5            >            5/6
>
>or if x= 2, y = 5
>
>then
>         10/7         >         7/10
>
>
>or if x = 5, y = 5
>
>then    25/10      >      10/25
>
>I can't get why you need more info to determine the relantionship..
>What's the trick here?
>

If 1/x + 1/y is less than 1, then the first quantity will be greater.
However if 1/x + 1/y is greater than 1 then the second quantity will be
greater.  If you are only given the constraints that x>1 and y>1, then
1/x + 1/y might either be greater or less than 1.  For example, if
x=y=3/2, then 1/x+1/y=4/3 > 1, but in the examples you tried (e.g. x=2,
y=3) you had 1/x + 1/y < 1.

--
Daniel Mayost


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