What is the total number of coins

Cydney Seigerman, Magoosh Tutor

Hi Jay :)

Yes, we can use the relationship B = 1.5C, where B is the number of coins Bert has and C is the number of coins Claire has, to solve this problem. Using the information from the two statements we can write the following equations.

B = 1.5C

B + C = N
--> Replace B with 1.5C: 1.5C + C = N --> 2.5C = N

21 < N < 28
21 < 2.5C < 28

Both B and C must be integers, since it doesn't make sense in the context of the problem to have a fractional number of coins. The possible values for the total number of coins, according to S2 are: 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27. With this in mind, the only possible value that gives us an integer value for C is N = 25. Since there is only 1 possible value for the total number of coins, the answer is C, "Both statements taken together are sufficient to answer the question, but neither statement alone is sufficient."

Jan 13, 2016 • Comment

Mike McGarry, Magoosh Tutor

Jan 4, 2014 • Comment