College Math Placement Test College Math Placement Test Word Problems 2

Question 1

John is 3 times as old as his son. In 10 years, John will be twice his son's age. How old is John now?

Accepted Answer

30

Answer

Let son = x, John = 3x; in 10 years: 3x+10 = 2(x+10) → x=10, so John is 30.

Question 2

A rectangle has a perimeter of 54 cm. The length is 3 cm more than twice the width. What is the width?

Accepted Answer

8 cm

Answer

With l = 2w+3, the perimeter equation 2(w+2w+3)=54 gives w=8 cm.

Question 3

Pipe A fills a tank in 6 hours; pipe B drains it in 9 hours. With both open, how long to fill the empty tank?

Accepted Answer

18 hours

Answer

Net fill rate = 1/6 − 1/9 = 1/18 per hour, so the tank fills in 18 hours.

Question 4

A salesperson earns $800/month base plus 6% commission. If total earnings are $1,520, what were the sales?

Accepted Answer

$12,000

Answer

Commission = $1,520 − $800 = $720; sales = 720/0.06 = $12,000.

Question 5

Two numbers have a sum of 80 and a difference of 24. What is the larger number?

Accepted Answer

52

Answer

Adding x+y=80 and x−y=24 gives 2x=104, so the larger number x=52.

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