Carcass wrote:
Leon, Billy, and Jim ate an astounding total of 78 hot dogs in a hot dog eating contest. If Jim ate four times as many hot dogs as Leon but half as many hot dogs as Billy, how many more hot dogs did Billy eat than Leon?
A. 13
B. 20
C. 39
D. 42
E. 60
Total \(= L + B + J = 78\)
\(J = 4L\)
\(\frac{J}{L} = \frac{4}{1}\)
\(J = \frac{1}{2}B\)
\(\frac{J}{B} = \frac{1}{2}\)
Let us make Js equal;
\(\frac{J}{L} = \frac{4}{1}\), \(\frac{J}{B} = \frac{1}{2}\)
\(\frac{J}{L} = \frac{4}{1}\), \(\frac{J}{B} = \frac{1(4)}{2(4)}\)
\(\frac{J}{L} = \frac{4}{1}\), \(\frac{J}{B} = \frac{4}{8}\)
Therefore, \(J : L : B = 4 : 1 : 8\)
The question asks \(B - L = \frac{(8 - 1)}{(4 + 1 + 8)}(78) = 42\)
Hence, option D