Hello People!
I was studying the SAT on a prep book when I encountered this problem below… Please help, even the correction does not make sense…
Rick
Widgets: 28
Hours : 4
Breaks: 2
Darryl
Widgets : 42
Hours : 6
Breaks: 4
Shane
Widgets : 27
Hours: 5
Breaks: 2
Rick, Shane and Darryl work at a widget factory. The table above shows the number of hours they each spent at the factory on a given day, the number of widgets they produced, and the number of 15 minute breaks they took while they were at the factory. Each man works at a constant rate.
Rick and Shane are each assigned an equal number of widgets. Neither will take breaks in order to complete this assignment as quickly as possible. Rick offers to do a certain percentage of Shane’s assignment so that they both finish at the same time. What percentage of Shane’s original assignment does Rick do?
A) 12.5 %
B) 14.3 %
C) 16.7%
D) 25%
If you subtract out the break time, you find that Rick works at 28 widgets/3.5 hrs = 8 widgets/hr.
Shane works at 27 widgets/4.5hrs = 6 widgets/hr.
At this point, you can play with numbers…imagine that the boss assigned them each 7 widgets. If Shane gives one of them to Rick, Shane will have 6, Rick will have 8 and both finish in one hour. So Rick will have done 1/7 of Shane’s assignment or (roughly) 14.3%.
Now I have an important follow-up question for you, one that could make your SAT prep much more effective:
In the 8 released official tests, can you find me a question like this?
Please think about that and decide whether you are using the right resources. Time is valuable.
Hi, thank you for you help!
This is from Princeton Review prep book, so i don’t know… What’s the best way to do review then, I’m confused??
Third party books have their use - as I should certainly say, having written one! You can learn the major SAT tricks like trial and error and making up numbers. And you can review the actual math content. The Princeton Review book is probably fine for that.
But the main focus of your prep should be authentic practice. The only source is the college board. You can buy their book or just get them on line (legally). Tests 5 - 8 are the best ones. Then, 1 - 4 are your next best bet. Review those tests like crazy. And google to find alternative solutions so that you don’t always have to do the algebra.