Equations

and
Ratios
 Pre-Session
Quant Review
Chapter 1
Equations and Ratios
Equations
An important aspect in solving any mathematical problem is to form equations and solve
them. This chapter will provide some basic concepts and to master this skill.

1. EQUATIONS IN ONE UNKNOWN

Step 1: Read the problem carefully, and assign a variable to the unknown quantity.
Step 2: Form the mathematical equation.
Step 3: To solve the equation, isolate the variable on one side and remaining values on the
other side.

Example 1:
10 years later, Peter’s age will be twice of his present age. Find Peter’s present age.

Solution:
Step 1: In the above problem, Peter’s present age is unknown. Hence, let it be p.
Step 2: Now 10 years later, his age ( p + 10) will be twice of his present age ( p ).
i.e. p + 10 = 2p (age after 10 years = 2 × present age)
Step 3: Isolate variable on one side.
⇒ 2p − p = 10
⇒ p = 10
Thus, Peter’s present age is 10 years.

Practice Set 1

1. Solve for x: 7x + 23 = 2(x + 4)

2. Solve for x: 2(5x − 2) = 3[2(x + 1) + 14]
3. 15 years later, Harry’s age will be thrice of his age 5 years ago. Find Harry’s present age.
4. Adam had $17.10 with him. He bought 3 apples for $1.50 each, 2 mangoes of $1.35 each and
the rest he spent on 9 guavas. Find the cost of 2 apples and 1 guava.
3
5. Initially, a tank is full of water. After adding 3 gallons water, tank becomes half filled.
8
Find the capacity of the tank.
6. Last year, Betty’s income from January to June was $15,000 more than her income from July
till September in the same year. If her income is same in every month, find her annual income.

3 Pre-Session Quant Review

 2. EQUATIONS IN TWO UNKNOWNS
Step 1: Read the problem carefully, and assign variables to unknown quantities.
Step 2: Form the mathematical equations.
Step 3: To solve the equations, isolate variables on one side and remaining quantities on the
other side. Then eliminate one of the variables (as illustrated in the following example).

Example 2:
A store sells pens for $5 each and pencils for $4 each. If John buys a total of 10 pens and pencils
for $44, how many pens did he buy?

Solution:
Step 1: In the above problem, number of pens and pencils bought is unknown. Let these be x
and y respectively.
Step 2: Total pens and pencils John bought:
x + y = 10 … (1)
Since cost of a pen is $5 and cost of a pencil is $4, he has spent 5x amount on pens
and 4y on pencils. Total amount he spent is $44.
Hence: 5x + 4y = 44 … (2)
Step 3: Eliminate one of the variables (say y). Multiplying equation (1) by 4:
4x + 4y = 40 … (3)
To eliminate y, subtract equation (3) from (2):
(5x + 4y) − (4x + 4y) = 44 − 40
⇒ 5x − 4x = 4
⇒x = 4, i.e. Number of pens John bought is 4.

A Smarter Way

Remember: Too many equations take too much time to solve. Hence, try to solve the

Pencils
Quantity:
$4

Pre-Session Quant Review 4

Carefully examine this method. If one unknown is assumed, one equation is to be solved. In previous
case, there were two equations to be solved for two unknowns. Also, after solving the problem,
read the question once again to verify what quantity is asked.

Practice Set 2

1. A store sells only 2 types of books: text books at $5 per book and note books at $4 per
book. If Barrett buys 7 books that cost him $31, how many text books did he buy?

2. Peter is 10 years older than Adam. 5 years ago, Peter was twice as old as Adam. How old is
Peter at present?

3. Peter and John weigh a total of 75 pounds. If Peter’s weight is 15 pounds less than twice
of John’s weight, how much does Peter weigh?

4. For a party, Nick spends a total of $200 on 125 sandwiches, which consists of single
sandwiches and double sandwiches only. If single sandwiches cost $1 each and double
sandwiches cost $2 each, how many double sandwiches did Nick buy for the party?

5. Victoria has 50 pieces of chocolates divided into 5-piece and 10-piece packages. If she has 4
more 5-piece packages than 10-piece packages, how many 10-piece packages does she
have?

6. Ronan cuts a rope of length 50 inches into 2 pieces. If the length of the first piece is 5 inches
more than the second piece, what is the length of the longer piece of the rope?

7. Smith has equal number of nickels and quarters worth a total of $9. How many coins does
he have? (Note: 1 nickel = 5 cents, 1 quarter = 25 cents, $1 = 100 cents)

3. SPECIAL EQUATIONS

Sometimes a question might involve two unknowns, but only one equation is given. In such
a case, it may ask one possible value, not a definite answer. Or it may ask for a ratio,which can
be calculated by simplifying the given equation. Take a look at the following examples.

Example 3:
1
Adam received more votes than Peter in a student election. Which of the following could
3
have been the total number of votes cast for the two candidates?
(A)12 (B)13 (C)14 (D)15 (E)16

5 Pre-Session Quant Review

 Solution:
𝒙 𝟒𝒙
Let Peter receives x votes. So, Adam receives x + = votes.
𝟑 𝟑
Adam Peter Total
𝟒𝒙 + 𝒙 = 𝟕𝒙
𝟑 𝟑

Total votes cast for two candidates cannot be a fraction, so 3 in the denominator definitely
𝒙
cancels with x (i.e. x is a multiple of 3). Hence, is an integer, and it follows that total votes
𝟑
should be a multiple of 7.
𝟕𝒙
Therefore, = 14 is the only possible value among the given options.
𝟑

Example 4:
𝒂+𝒃 𝒂
= 𝟏𝟎. Find .
𝒂 𝒃

Solution:
Cross multiplication gives: a + b = 10a
⇒ b = 10a − a
⇒ b = 9a
𝒂 𝟏
⇒ =
𝒃 𝟗

3. Andy has half as many books as Bill, who has one third as many books as Charlie.

(A) 30 (B) 60 (D) 120 (E) 150

NON-LINEAR EQUATIONS: Non-linear equations (mainly quadratic equations) are an

important part of algebra. This section will provide basic concepts regarding how to solve
quadratic equations, equations with square roots, and inequalities.

4. QUADRATIC EQUATIONS

Using Factorization:

First write the equation in descending powers of variable (i.e. first term with x2, second
term with x, and third term a constant). Then, split middle term into two terms, whose
product is equal to the product of first term and last term.

Pre-Session Quant Review 6

Example 5:
Solve: x 2 + 5x + 6 = 0

Solution:
Split +5x into two terms whose product is equal to +6x2.Two terms will be +2x and +3x.
x2 + 5x + 6 = 0
⇒ x2 + 2x + 3x + 6 = 0
Take x common from first and second term, and 3 common from third and fourth term.
⇒ x(x + 2) + 3(x + 2) = 0
⇒ (x + 2) (x + 3) = 0 (Product of two numbers is 0 ⇒ At least of these numbers is 0.)
⇒ x + 2 = 0 or x + 3 = 0
⇒ x = −2 or x = −3

Using Formula: Roots (or solutions) of a quadratic equation of the form ax2 + bx + c = 0 are:

Formula 1:

Note:

Example 6:
Solve: x2 + 5x + 6 = 0 by using the formula.
Solution:
Here a = +1, b = +5 and c = +6. Hence roots are given by:

− 𝒃 ± √𝒃𝟐 − 𝟒𝒂𝒄 − 𝟓 ± √𝟓𝟐 − 𝟒(𝟏)(𝟔)

x= =
𝟐𝒂 𝟐(𝟏)
− 𝟓 ± √𝟏 − 𝟓 +𝟏 − 𝟓 −𝟏
= i.e. the roots are and .
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
⇒ x = −2 or x = −3

7 Pre-Session Quant Review

 (A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 6 (E) 7

5. EQUATIONS WITH SQUARE ROOT

To solve equations with square root, take the quantity with square root on one side and then
square both sides.

Example 7:
Solve for t: =4

Solution:
Squaring both sides gives: t − 2 = 16 ⇒ t = 18

Note: After solving, always check the answer by substituting it back in the original equation.
All the quantities in square root should be nonnegative. Also, square root of a number is
nonnegative.

Pre-Session Quant Review 8

Example 8:

Solve for x: √𝑥 = x − 2

Solution:
Squaring both sides gives: 𝒙 = x2 − 4x + 4
⇒ x2 − 5x + 4 = 0 (Split − 5x into two terms whose product is + 4x2)
⇒ x − 4x − x + 4 = 0
2

⇒ (x − 4) (x − 1) = 0
⇒ x = 4 or x = 1

Substituting x = 4 in √𝑥 = x – 2 : √4 = 4 – 2 which is true.

Substituting x = 1 in √𝑥 = x – 2 : √1 = 1 – 2 which is false.

Hence, x = 4 is the only solution.

a) b) c) x= d)

9 Pre-Session Quant Review

 Answers: Practice Set 1

1. −3 3. 15 years 5. 24 gallons

2. 13 4. $4.10 6. $60,000

Answers: Practice Set 2

1. 3 4. 75 7. 60

2. 25 years 5. 2

3. 45 pounds 6. 27.5 inches

Answers: Practice Set 3

1. 17.5 2. 7 3. c)

Answers: Practice Set 4

− 5 ± √53
1. a) 1, −6 1. d) 4. b)
2

1. b) 5, −1 2. −2
3
1. c) −2, − 3. d)
2

Answers: Practice Set 5

1. c) 4 2. −3
1. a) 44
1. d) 2
1. b) 2, −2

Pre-Session Quant Review 10

Solutions: Practice Set 1

1. 7x + 23 = 2(x + 4)
⇒ 7x + 23 = 2x + 8
⇒ 7x − 2x = 8 − 23
⇒ 5x = −15
⇒ x = −3

2. 2(5x − 2) = 3[2(x + 1) + 14]

⇒ 10x − 4 = 3[2x + 16]
⇒ 10x − 4 = 6x + 48
⇒ 10x − 6x = 48 + 4
⇒ 4x = 52
⇒ x = 13

3. Let Harry’s present age be h.

After 15 years, his age (h + 15) will be thrice of his age 5 years ago (h − 5).
⇒ h + 15 = 3(h − 5)
⇒ h + 15 = 3h − 15
⇒ 3h − h = 15 + 15
⇒ h = 15 years

4. Cost of 3 apples = 3 × 1.50 = $4.50; Cost of 2 mangoes = 2 × 1.35 = $2.70;

Say, cost of 9 guavas = 9g (where g is the cost of 1 guava)
Total amount he paid = $4.50 + $2.70 + 9g which should be equal to $17.10
⇒ 4.5 + 2.7 + 9g = 17.1
⇒ 9g = 17.1 − 4.5 − 2.7
⇒ 9g = 9.9
⇒ g = $1.10
So, cost of 2 apples and 1 guava = 2 × 1.50 + 1.10 = $4.10
5. Let capacity of tank be x gallons.
3 3
Tank is initially full ⇒ Water in tank = x gallons
8 8
3
After adding 3 gallons, total water = x + 3, which is same as half of the capacity.
8
3 1
⇒ x+3= x
8 2
1 3
⇒ x− x=3
2 8
𝟒𝒙−𝟑𝒙
⇒ =3
𝟖
𝒙
⇒ =3
𝟖
⇒ 𝒙 = 𝟐𝟒
⇒ Hence, total capacity = x = 24 gallons

11 Pre-Session Quant Review

 6. Let Betty’s monthly income be x.
Betty’s income from January till June (6x) is $15,000 more than her income from July till
September (3x).
⇒ 6x = 15,000 + 3x
⇒ 6x − 3x = 15,000
⇒ 3x = 15,000
⇒ x = $5,000
Annual Income = 12 × 5,000 = $60,000

Solutions: Practice Set 2

1. Text Books Note Books

Quantity: x 7−x
Cost of each: $5 $4
Total cost: 5x + 4(7 − x) = 31
⇒ 5x − 4x + 28 = 31 ⇒x = 3

2. Adam Peter
Present age: x x + 10
5 years ago: x−5 x+5 (present age − 5)
Also, 5 years ago, Peter was twice as old as Adam.
Hence,
⇒ x + 5 = 2(x − 5)
⇒ x = 15
⇒ Peter’s age = 15 + 10 = 25 years

3. Peter John
Weights: x 75 − x
Peter weighs 15 pounds less than twice John’s weight, i.e., P = 2J − 15
⇒ x = 2(75 − x) − 15
⇒ x = 45, i.e. Peter weighs 45 pounds.

4. Double Single
Sandwiches Sandwiches

Quantity: x 125 − x
Cost of each: $2 $1
Total cost: 2x + 1(125 − x) = 200
⇒ 2x + 125 − x = 200
⇒ x = 75

Pre-Session Quant Review 12

5. 5-piece 10-piece
Packages Packages

Quantity: x+4 x
Chocolates in each: 5 10
Total chocolates: 5(x + 4) + 10x = 50
⇒ 5x + 20 + 10x = 50
⇒x=2

6. Longer Piece Shorter Piece

Length: x+5 x
Total length: (x + 5) + x = 50
⇒ x = 22.5 inches
⇒ Length of longer piece = 22.5 + 5 = 27.5 inches

7. Currency system followed on test :1$ = 100¢ (cent),

1 quarter = 25¢,
1 dime = 10¢,
1 nickel = 5¢,
1 penny = 1¢.
Quarters Nickels
Number of coins: x x
Value of each coin: 0.25 0.05
Total amount: 0.25x + 0.05x =9
⇒ x = 30
⇒ Total number of coins = 2x = 60

Solutions: Practice Set 3

1. By solving given 3 equations, values of a, b, and c can be calculated. However, value of 3

unknowns is not asked, only a + b + c is to be calculated, which can be obtained by adding
3 equations:
⇒ a + b + b + c + c + a = 15 + 10 + 10
⇒ 2(a + b + c) = 35
⇒ a + b + c = 17.5

2. x + y = 5y
⇒ x = 4y
Substituting x gives:
𝒙 + 𝟑𝒚 𝟒𝒚 + 𝟑𝒚
⇒ =
𝒚 𝒚

13 Pre-Session Quant Review

 𝟕𝒚
=
𝒚
=7

3. Let number of books with Andy be a, with bill be b, and with Charlie be c.

As per the question, b = 2a, and c = 3b.

⇒ 3b = 6a and c = 3b
⇒ 6a = 3b = c
⇒ 6a = c
Therefore, a + b + c = a + 2a + 6a
⇒ a + b + c = 9a
⇒ Total number of books is a multiple of 9
Only option (c) 90 is a multiple of 9, answer will be (c) 90.

Solutions: Practice Set 4

1. a) x 2 + 5x − 6 = 0
⇒ x2 + 6x − x − 6 = 0 (Product of two factors must be −6x2, i.e. +6x and −x)
⇒ x(x + 6) − 1(x + 6) = 0
⇒ (x + 6) (x − 1) = 0
⇒ x = 1 or −6

b) x2 − 4x − 5 = 0
⇒ x2 − 5x + x − 5 = 0 (Product of two factors must be −5x2, i.e. +x and −5x)
⇒ (x + 1) (x − 5) = 0
⇒ x = 5 or −1

c) 2x2 + 7x + 6 = 0
⇒ 2x2 + 4x + 3x + 6 = 0 (Product of two factors must be 12x2, i.e. +3x and +4x)
⇒ (x + 2) (2x + 3) = 0
3
⇒ x = −2 or −
2

d) x2 + 5x − 7 = 0
⇒ By using formula 1: a = +1, b = +5, c = −7

− 5 ± √53
⇒𝒙=
2

Pre-Session Quant Review 14

2. x = 4 satisfies the equation x2 + kx − 8 = 0
⇒ 42 + k(4) − 8 = 0
⇒ 4k + 8 = 0
⇒ k = −2

3. 4 and 2 are the roots of equation: (x − 4) (x − 2) = 0 i.e. x2 − 6x + 8 = 0

4. b − a = x 2, i.e. b − a is square of an integer. Hence, b − a could be 4.

Solutions: Practice Set 5

1. a) =6
Squaring gives: x − 8 = 36 ⇒ x = 44
b) =5
Squaring gives: x2 + 21 = 25
⇒ x2 = 4
⇒ x = 2 or −2

c) =

⇒ =2 (Cross multiply)

⇒ x2 − 3x = 4 (Squaring both sides)

⇒ x2 − 3x − 4 = 0
⇒ (x − 4) (x + 1) = 0
⇒ x = 4 or −1. But x = −1 does not satisfy original question.

d) =
⇒ x2 − 2 = x (Squaring both sides)
⇒ x2 − x − 2 = 0
⇒ (x − 2) (x + 1) = 0
⇒ x = 2 or −1. But x = −1 does not satisfy original question.

2. x = 9 satisfies the equation √𝒙 + 𝒌√𝒙 − 8 = 0

⇒ √9 + 𝒌√9 − 8 = 0
⇒ 3 + k (1) = 0
⇒ k = −3

15 Pre-Session Quant Review

 Ratios
Ratio and Proportion is the basics of percent, and ultimately, of arithmetic. To form
equations and understand variations, one should be thorough with the concepts of ratios.

1. RATIO

Ratio is comparison of two or more similar quantities. E.g. days in a non-leap year and in the
month of April can be expressed as 365 ∶ 30,
365 73
i.e. 365 is to 30. It can also be written as or in simpler form as or 73 ∶ 6.
30 6
If a and b are in the ratio 3 ∶ 5, then assume a as 3k and b as 5k. This method is very useful to
solve ratio questions. Similarly, if a ∶ b ∶ c = 3 ∶ 5 ∶ 8, assume a = 3k, b = 5k and c = 8k.

Example 1:
a and b are in the ratio 4 ∶ 7. Sum of a and b is 132. Find a.

Solution:
Let a = 4k and b = 7k.
⇒ a + b = 4k + 7k = 132, which gives: k = 12
Therefore, a = 4k = 4 × 12 = 48

Practice Set 1

1. Kim has a total of 15 marbles of red and yellow color. Ratio of the number of red to that
of yellow marbles is 2 ∶ 1. How many red marbles does Kim have?

2. A, B, and C divide a profit in the ratio of 3 ∶ 4 ∶ 5. If they made a total profit of $72,000, then
C’s share of profit is how much more than A’s share?

3. Initially, men and women in a room were in the ratio 4 ∶ 3. Five women leave the room. If
there are 28 men in the room, how many women are left in the room?

4. In a room, men and women were in the ratio 2 ∶ 3. Later, 2 men entered and 3 women left,
and their respective ratio now is 2 ∶ 1. Find the number of people in the room now.

5. Amount of time three people spent on a project was in the ratio 1 ∶ 3 ∶ 4. If the project took
total 200 hours, how many more hours did the person who worked for maximum time
spend than the person who worked for the least time?

Pre-Session Quant Review 16

2. PROPORTION
Proportion is equality of two ratios, i.e. a ∶ b ∷ c ∶ d
a c
⇒ =
b d

For two variables:

Direct Proportion:
a is directly proportional to b, i.e. a increases as b increases (or b increases as
a increases).
 a∝b
𝒂
 = constant
𝒃

Inverse Proportion:
a is inversely proportional to b, i.e. a decreases as b increases (or b decreases as a
increases).

𝟏
⇒a∝
𝒃
⇒ a × b = constant

Remember: If directly proportional, then RATIO IS CONSTANT;

and if inversely proportional, then PRODUCT IS CONSTANT.

Example 2:
Cost of a diamond (in dollars) is directly proportional to the square of its weight (in
carats). Diamond of weight 20 carats costs $20,000. What is the cost of a diamond that
weighs 30 carats?

Solution:
Let c be the cost in dollars and w be the weight in carats.
⇒ c ∝ w2
⇒ Ratio of c to w2, i.e. cost to square of weight, is constant.
When weight of diamond is 20 carats, cost is $20,000. And cost is to be calculated when
weight is 30 carats.

17 Pre-Session Quant Review

 𝟐𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒄
 = 𝟑𝟎𝟐
𝟐𝟎𝟐

𝟑𝟎𝟐 × 𝟐𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎
𝒄 = 𝟐𝟎𝟐

 c = $45,000

Practice Set 2

1. 24 ∶ x is proportional to 144 ∶ 400. What is the value of x?

2. x ∶ 10 is proportional to y ∶ x. Given that y = 5x, what is the value of x? (x ≠ 0)

Pre-Session Quant Review 18

Answers: Practice Set 1

1. 10 3. 16 5. 75 hours

2. $12,000 4. 9

Answers: Practice Set 2

200
1.
3

2. 50

19 Pre-Session Quant Review

 Solutions: Practice Set 1

1. Red ∶ Yellow = 2 ∶ 1 ⇒ Let yellow marbles be x and red marbles be 2x.

⇒ Total marbles = 3x = 15 ⇒x = 5
⇒ Red marbles = 2x = 10

2. Let A got 3x, B got 4x and C got 5x dollar amount as the profit share.
⇒ Total = 3x + 4x + 5x = 72,000
⇒ x = 6,000
Therefore, A got 3x (i.e. 18,000) and C got 5x (i.e. 30,000)
⇒ C got $12,000 more than A.

3. Men ∶ Women = 4 ∶ 3
⇒ Let number of men be 4x and that of women be 3x.
If 5 women left the room, number of men left in room is still 4x, which is given as 28.
⇒ 4x = 28
⇒x=7
Therefore, number of women initially present = 3x = 21
5 women left the room. Hence, women finally left in the room = 21 − 5 = 16

4. Men ∶ Women = 2 ∶ 3
⇒ Let number of men be 2x and that of women be 3x.
2 men entered and 3 women left.
⇒ Finally the number of men in room is 2x + 2, and the number of women is 3x − 3.
Ratio is 2 ∶ 1.
2x + 2 2
=
3x − 3 1

Cross multiply and simplify: x = 2

Therefore, the number of people in the room now = (2x + 2) + (3x − 3) = 5x − 1 = 9

5. Time is in the ratio 1 ∶ 3 ∶ 4 ⇒ Let it be x, 3x and 4x respectively.

Total time = 8x = 200 ⇒ x = 25
Maximum time spent by a person is 4x or 100 hours and the least time spent by a person
is x or 25hours.
Therefore, the person who worked for maximum time spent 75 hours more than the
person who worked for the least time.

Pre-Session Quant Review 20

Solutions: Practice Set 2
24 144
1. =
𝑥 400
 144x = 24 × 400
200
 x=
3

𝒙 𝒚
2. = and y = 5x
𝟏𝟎 𝒙

𝒙 𝒚
 =𝟓 (y = 5x gives = 𝟓)
𝟏𝟎 𝒙
 x = 50

21 Pre-Session Quant Review