Are you smarter than a 16 year old?
Question
The cost of a mobile phone is X pounds. The cost of a television is Y pounds. When both prices are increased by 40 pounds, the ratio for the cost of the mobile phone to the cost of the television is 15 to 22. When both prices are decreased by a hundred pounds, the ratio for the cost of the mobile phone to the cost of the television is eight to 15, find the values of X, the cost of the mobile phone, and Y, the cost of the television.
Answer
Chris Smith put this question to mathematician Ems Lord...
Ems - I think when you have questions like this, and you have to spend so long getting your head around it, it then comes back how we solve problems? I think the first thing is trying to put it into your own words: absolutely key. And just having that really good strategy. But even then, because you've got those two different parts to it, there's a lot going on and there's quite a few different strategies you can use. I don't recommend trying to solve the problem at the same time as talking on the radio. I do think that's a little bit of a challenge, but there you go.
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