sandy wrote:
Tina, Ed, and Lauren agree to share the cost of a gift and to make their contributions in proportion to their ages. Ed’s age is ½ of Tina’s age, and Lauren’s age is 1/3 of Ed’s age. If Lauren’s share of the cost is $ 2.50, what is the cost of the gift?
(A) $25
(B) $20
(C) $15
(D) $12
(E) $10
To get a better idea of the age proportions, let's assign some values that meet the given conditions.
Lauren’s age is 1/3 of Ed’s ageSo, let Ed's age =
3 years
This means that Lauren’s age =
1 year
Ed’s age is ½ of Tina’s ageIf Ed's age =
3 years, then Tina’s age =
6So, the proportion (Ed's age) : (Tina’s age) : (Lauren’s age) =
3 :
6 :
13 +
6 +
1 =
10So, Lauren's contribution =
1/
10 of the TOTAL cost
If Lauren’s share of the cost is $ 2.50, then the TOTAL cost = (10)($2.50) = $25
Answer:
Cheers,
Brent