GCAT Arithmetic Word Problems 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An employee earns $18/hour for regular time and 1.5× for overtime. She works 45 hours in one week. What are her total weekly earnings?
- $810
- $855 (Correct answer)
- $900
- $945
Correct answer: $855
40 regular hours × $18 = $720; 5 overtime hours × $27 = $135; total = $855.
Question 2: A train 300 meters long passes a stationary pole in 15 seconds. What is the train's speed in km/h?
- 60
- 68
- 72 (Correct answer)
- 80
Correct answer: 72
Speed = 300 ÷ 15 = 20 m/s; 20 × 3.6 = 72 km/h.
Question 3: A $200 item is discounted 15%, then 8% sales tax is applied. What is the final price?
- $183.60 (Correct answer)
- $184.20
- $185.00
- $186.40
Correct answer: $183.60
$200 × 0.85 = $170; $170 × 1.08 = $183.60.
Question 4: If 8 pipes fill a tank in 6 hours, how long will 12 pipes take to fill the same tank?
- 3 hours
- 4 hours (Correct answer)
- 5 hours
- 9 hours
Correct answer: 4 hours
Total pipe-hours needed = 8 × 6 = 48; time with 12 pipes = 48 ÷ 12 = 4 hours.
Question 5: A person invests $5,000 at 4% simple interest per year. How much total interest is earned in 3 years and 6 months?
- $600
- $650
- $700 (Correct answer)
- $750
Correct answer: $700
I = $5,000 × 0.04 × 3.5 = $700.
Question 6: A box contains red and blue marbles in a ratio of 3:5. If there are 24 red marbles, how many marbles are in the box in total?
- 32
- 40
- 56
- 64 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 64
3 parts = 24, so 1 part = 8; total 8 parts × 8 = 64 marbles.
Question 7: Maria drives to work at 60 mph and returns home along the same route at 40 mph. What is her average speed for the entire round trip?
- 48 mph (Correct answer)
- 50 mph
- 52 mph
- 54 mph
Correct answer: 48 mph
Average speed = 2 × 60 × 40 ÷ (60 + 40) = 4,800 ÷ 100 = 48 mph.
GCAT Arithmetic Word Problems 3
An employee earns $18/hour for regular time and 1.5× for overtime.
She works 45 hours in one week.
What are her total weekly earnings?