HSPT Math : How to do other word problems

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for HSPT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #517 : Problem Solving

Rent in Roger's apartment is $915 per month. The rent is due on the fifth of the month, and Roger must pay $30 penalty per day late. 

In 2014, Roger paid his rent on the first of each month, except for May, when he paid on the seventh. He decided to break his lease and move out on September 20. He agreed to pay a prorated rent of $600 for September, and to pay a fee of two months' rent in order to break the lease. He does, however, get back his entire $400 security deposit. 

How much money did Roger pay the apartment in 2014, after all accounts were settled?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Roger paid $915 rent for each of eight complete months - January through August - for a total of

He paid the rent for May two days late, so the penalty was

To break the lease, he paid two months' rent, or

Add these, add the prorated September rent, and subtract the returned deposit:

Example Question #71 : Word Problems

How many different ways can a single digit be written in the box to form an integer divisible by 4?

Possible Answers:

Five

Ten

One

Two

Correct answer:

Five

Explanation:

A number is divisible by 4 if and only if its last two digits form a number which itself is divisible by 4. The numbers 08, 28, 48, 68, and 88 are each divisible by 4, as seen here:

However, 18, 38, 58, 78, and 98 are not divisible by 4, as seen here:

Therefore, the ways to fill in the box to form a number divisible by 4 are 2, 4, 6, 8, and 0 - five ways.

Example Question #71 : Word Problems

How many different ways can a single digit be written in the box to form an integer divisible by 3?

Possible Answers:

Two

Ten

Five

Three

Correct answer:

Three

Explanation:

An integer is divisible by 3 if and only if its digit sum is also divisible by 3. If we let  be the missing digit, then the digit sum is 

We can test each digit from 0 to 9 to see which sums are divisible by 3. We can see that this is the case if:

The other seven digits can be seen to form a digit sum that is not a mulitiple of 3 using the same method.

Therefore, there are three ways to fill in the box to form a multiple of 3.

Example Question #42 : How To Do Other Word Problems

Table

Mr. and Mrs. Quinn are hosting a party with three other couples. The above shows their two tables along with their seats.

How many ways can the eight persons be seated so that no man is at the same table as his wife?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

For each of the four couples, there are two ways to select the table at which to seat each person - the man can be at the left table and the woman can be at the right, or vice versa. This makes  ways to make this decision total between the four couples.

Once these four choices are made, for each table, there are 

ways to seat the four chosen persons. 

By the multiplication principle. there will be 

 different arrangements that seat each husband and wife at separate tables.

Example Question #81 : Word Problems

Table

Mr. and Mrs. Williams are hosting a party with three other couples. The above shows their two tables along with their seats.

How many ways can the eight people be seated so that each husband-and-wife couple are at the same table?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

First, it is necessary to choose the couples that are each table. There are

 ways to choose the two couples that will be at the left table; this is equal to

.

Once those two couples are chosen, the remaining two couples will be at right.

For each table, there are 

ways to seat the four chosen persons.

By the multiplication principle. there will be 

 different arrangements that seat all four couples together.

Example Question #82 : Word Problems

Table

Mr. And Mrs. Jones have invited six guests to dinner, including their daughter Rachel. The above show their kitchen table with the locations of its eight seats. 

It is desired that Rachel sit in either Seat 3 or Seat 7 between her parents. How many arrangements are possible that conform to this specification?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We can apply the multiplication principle here. First, there are two possible places Rachel can occupy. One this is decided, there are two ways to seat her parents - with Mr. Jones to her left and Mrs. Jones to her right, and vice versa. The number of ways to seat the remaining five guests in the remaining five seats is 

.

Therefore, the number of arrangements fulfilling the requirement is

.

Example Question #83 : Word Problems

Washington High School held an election for student body president. There were four candidates: Allen, Paul, Veronica, and Wendy. Voting was conducted over two days.

The votes cast on the first day were counted, and this was the result:

Allen: 72

Paul: 56

Veronica: 76

Wendy: 40

The votes cast on the second day were counted, and this was the result:

Allen: 85

Paul: 43

Veronica: 70

Wendy: 92

According to the rules, a student must win a majority of the votes to be elected; if no candidate wins a majority, there is a runoff between the two highest vote-getters.

Which of the following is true of the results?

Possible Answers:

Allen won the election outright.

Allen and Wendy will face each other in a runoff.

Veronica and Wendy will face each other in a runoff.

Allen and Veronica will face each other in a runoff.

Correct answer:

Allen and Veronica will face each other in a runoff.

Explanation:

For each candidate, add the two day totals:

Allen: 

Paul: 

Veronica: 

Wendy: 

Allen was the highest vote-getter. However, Allen got 157 votes, and his opponents got a total of  votes, so Allen did not get a majority. He will fac the second-highest vote-getter, Veronica, in a runoff.

Example Question #41 : How To Do Other Word Problems

Jefferson High School held an election for student body president. There were four candidates: Ahmad, Michiko, Quinn, and Zane. 

The initial count was as follows:

Ahmad: 193

Michiko: 598

Quinn: 210

Zane: 189

The next day, it was discovered that 115 ballots remained uncounted. The student in charge of counting them, however, only reported the percent of students who voted for each candidate:

Ahmad: 21.7%

Michiko: 42.6%

Quinn: 18.3%

Zane: 17.4%

According to the rules, a student must win a majority of the votes to be elected; if no candidate wins a majority, there is a runoff between the two highest vote-getters.

Which of the following is true of the results?

Possible Answers:

Michiko and Zane will face each other in a runoff.

Michiko won the election outright.

Michiko and Quinn will face each other in a runoff.

Michiko and Ahmad  will face each other in a runoff.

Correct answer:

Michiko and Quinn will face each other in a runoff.

Explanation:

Ahmad received 193 votes plus 21.7% of the previously uncounted 115 votes, for a total of

 votes.

Michiko received 598 votes plus 42.6% of the previously uncounted 115 votes, for a total of

 votes.

Quinn received 210 votes plus 18.3% of the previously uncounted 115 votes, for a total of

 votes.

Zane received 189 votes plus 17.4% of the previously uncounted 115 votes, for a total of

 votes.

Michiko got the most votes with 647. Her opponents won a total of

 votes, more than Michiko, so Michiko did not win a majority. She will face the second-highest vote-getter, Quinn, in a runoff.

Example Question #41 : How To Do Other Word Problems

Define the universal set to be the set of all people.

Let be the set of all people who speak Dutch, Let be the set of all people who speak Spanish, and be the set of all people who speak Arabic.

Jim speaks only two languages - English and Arabic.Julie speaks only two languages - English and Dutch.

Who would be in the set ?

Possible Answers:

Jim, but not Julie

Julie, but not Jim

Both Julie and Jim

Neither Julie nor  Jim

Correct answer:

Jim, but not Julie

Explanation:

A person in the set - the union of the sets  and  - would have to fit either or both of the following descriptions:

The person could be in the set , in which case (s)he speaks Arabic. Jim speaks Arabic, so he is in ; consequently, he is in . Julie does not qualify for inclusion in this set this way.

The person could be in set , which means (s)he is in both , the complement of , and , the complement of . (S)he would have to speak neither Dutch nor Spanish. Julie speaks Dutch, so she does not qualify for inclusion in this way either.

Example Question #86 : Word Problems

Define the universal set to be the set of all people. Let  and  be the set of all dancers and the set of all singers, respectively.

Mary is a dancer and a singer. Florence is neither a singer nor a dancer. Which of the ladies is in the set  ?

Possible Answers:

Mary, but not Florence

Florence, but not Mary 

Both Mary and Florence

Neither Mary nor Florence

Correct answer:

Neither Mary nor Florence

Explanation:

 is the set of dancers. , the complement of , is the set of persons not in  - that is, the set of persons who are not singers.  is the intersection of the two, or the set of all persons in both  and ; to be in , a person must be a dancer and must not be a singer. Mary is excluded from  because she is a singer; Florence is excluded because she is not a dancer.

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