All HSPT Math Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #521 : Problem Solving
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?
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 #522 : Problem Solving
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?
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 #523 : Problem Solving
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?
Veronica and Wendy will face each other in a runoff.
Allen and Veronica will face each other in a runoff.
Allen and Wendy will face each other in a runoff.
Allen won the election outright.
Allen and Veronica will face each other in a runoff.
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 #45 : 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?
Michiko and Ahmad will face each other in a runoff.
Michiko and Zane will face each other in a runoff.
Michiko and Quinn will face each other in a runoff.
Michiko won the election outright.
Michiko and Quinn will face each other in a runoff.
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 #82 : 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 ?
Julie, but not Jim
Both Julie and Jim
Jim, but not Julie
Neither Julie nor Jim
Jim, but not Julie
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 #46 : How To Do Other 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 ?
Mary, but not Florence
Neither Mary nor Florence
Florence, but not Mary
Both Mary and Florence
Neither Mary nor Florence
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.
Example Question #51 : How To Do Other Word Problems
Define the universal set to be the set of all people. Let be the set of people who know how to play spades, and be the set of people who know how to play hearts.
Beyonce knows how to play hearts, but she doesn't know how to play spades. Aaliyah knows how to play spades, but she doesn't know how to play hearts. Which of the ladies falls in the set ?
Aaliyah, but not Beyonce
Neither Beyonce nor Aaliyah
Beyonce, but not Aaliyah
Both Beyonce and Aaliyah
Neither Beyonce nor Aaliyah
By DeMorgan's Laws,
That is, the complement of the union of the sets is the intersection of the complements of the sets. Therefore, for a person to be in this set, it is necessary for the person to be in the complements of both and - that is, the person cannot be in either set. Any person who can play spades or hearts must be excluded, and since both Beyonce and Aaliyah can play at least one game, both are excluded.
Example Question #52 : How To Do Other Word Problems
Let the universal set be the set of positive integers. Let be the set of prime numbers and be the set of odd numbers. Which of the following is in the set ?
is the intersection of two sets. One is the complement of , which is the set of all elements not in ; these are the numbers that are not prime. The other is , the set of all odd numbers. Therefore, the correct choice must be odd and not prime.
2 and 32 are eliminated for being even. Of the two odd choices, 17 is a prime number, having only 1 and 17 as factors. 39 has more than two factors (3 is a factor, since 39 divided by 3 yields quotient 13), so it is not prime. 39 is the correct choice.
Example Question #81 : Word Problems
A number of balls are placed in a box, each havng a letter on it. Each vowel is represented by three balls; each consonant, two. A ball is then drawn at random. What are the odds in favor of, or against, the ball having a vowel on it?
Note: for purposes of this problem, "Y" is considered a consonant.
3 to 2 in favor
14 to 5 against
63 to 10 in favor
21 to 5 against
14 to 5 against
There are five vowels, each represented by three balls; the number of balls with vowels is
.
There are twenty-one consonants, each represented by two balls; the number of balls with consonants is
.
The odds against drawing a vowel are therefore
, or 14 to 5.
Example Question #54 : How To Do Other Word Problems
A number of balls are placed in a box, each havng a letter on it. Each vowel is represented by balls; each consonant, one ball. A ball is then drawn at random. In terms of , give the probability that the ball will have an "E" on it.
Note: for purposes of this problem, "Y" is considered a consonant.
There are five vowels, each represented by balls, so there will be balls with vowels; each of the twenty-one consonants will be represented by one ball, so the total number of balls is . Since there are balls with an "E" on them, the probability of drawing one of these balls is .