Ratio, Proportion and Percentages Puzzle – Challenge 24

Challenge:

The current ratio of girls to boys at a certain school is 2 to 7. If 10 additional girls were added to the school, the new ratio of girls to boys would be 3 to 8. How many girls currently attend the school?

A- 22

B- 32

C- 42

D- 56

E- 112

The Absolute Best Book to challenge your Smart Student!

Math and Critical Thinking Challenges For the Middle and High School Student

Download

$16.99 $11.99

Rated 4.41 out of 5 based on 135 customer ratings

Satisfied 123 Students

Put x for the number of current girls and y for the number of current boys at the school. First, let’s set up our ratios.
\(\frac{x}{y} = \frac{2}{7}\) and \(\frac{x+10}{y }= \frac{3}{8 }\)
Use cross multiplication to write the equations.
\(7x = 2y\) and \(8 (x+10) = 3y ⇒ 8x + 80 = 3y\)
Now, we have a system of equations with two variables.
\(\begin{cases}7x-2y = 0\\ 8x-3y=-80\end{cases} \Rightarrow \begin{cases}8x-3y = -80\\ -16x+6y=160\end{cases}\)
From the system of equations above: \(x = 32\) and \(y = 112\)
32 girls are currently attending the school.