A lost and hungry vagabond happened upon a pair of travelers one of whom had three loaves of bread while the other had five. All of the loaves were the same size and weight. The two travelers decided to share their bread with the vagabond, and that the eight loaves should be shared equally among the three of them. When they had finished, the vagabond reached into his pocket and pulled out eight coins. In what ratio should the eight coins be split between the traveler who had three loaves of bread and the traveler who had five loaves of bread?

Correct answer marked below

7:1

5:3

3:5

1:7

Correct

1:8

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Explanation

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Official Explanation

Official

Total loaves = 8.

Each person's share =

\frac{8}{3}

loaves.

Traveler with 3 loaves contributed:

3 - \frac{8}{3} = \frac{9-8}{3} = \frac{1}{3}

loaf.

Traveler with 5 loaves contributed:

5 - \frac{8}{3} = \frac{15-8}{3} = \frac{7}{3}

loaves.…

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What this question tests

Your ability to convert between fractions, ratios, and decimals and to reason proportionally.

Cross-multiplying incorrectly or mixing up the ratio parts — a part:part ratio is not a fraction of the whole.