Tourist purchased a total of 30 travelers checks in $50 and $100 denominations. The total worth of the travelers checks is $1800. How many checks of $50 denominations can he spend so that average amount (arithmetic mean) of the remaining travelers checks is $80?
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Thanks for the clear explanation. I initially set up the equations but got stuck on what 'spend' really meant. Once I realized it's about removing $50 checks, it clicked.
Same here! The wording threw me off at first.
Glad it helped! The key is to track the number of checks and total value after spending.
Why do we need to solve for the original number of $50 and $100 checks? Couldn't we just set up an equation with the unknown number of $50 checks spent?
You actually do need the original counts to know how many checks remain after spending. The average depends on both the number and total value of the remaining checks.
I tried that but got stuck because the remaining number of checks changes as you spend. So you need the starting counts.
This was a bit tricky. I had to read it twice to understand that we're spending $50 checks and the average of the remaining checks becomes $80. The math is straightforward once you set it up.
What it tests
Your fluency with the order of operations, fractions, decimals, and basic number sense — the foundation every quant question leans on.
Common trap
Applying the order of operations out of sequence or rounding intermediate values before the final step.